SHIELD Prep
by Lia Kada
Summary: AU where the Avengers and other Marvel movie characters are all teenagers and attend SHIELD Prep. While they flirt and fight among themselves, a mysterious boy named Loki begins attending their school. Disaster immediately follows.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** I was on vacation for a month, and when I had nothing to do, I wrote. This happened. I'm not sure if it's any good, so reviews would be great.

* * *

**Chapter One**

* * *

"Kids, today I'd like to welcome a new student," Mr. Fury announced to his eleventh grade class, reading the notice he had just received from the administration. When no one responded, he looked up at the teenagers and sighed.

Clint was _still_ shooting spitballs at Natasha, who, in return, repeatedly jabbed her spiked heels into his thigh.

Tony was scribbling furiously into his notebook when he wasn't talking to James, flirting with the females in the room, or trying to provoke Steve, the only student paying attention.

Bruce glanced curiously at Tony's notebook while jotting down notes in his own; as Tony noticed Bruce was looking at his notebook, the latter pulled away nervously. In response, Tony inched closer to him and tilted his notebook so that Bruce could see it better. Bruce blushed furiously, and Tony either pretended not to notice or was too caught up in Pepper to care.

"Class, pay attention!" Mr. Fury yelled as the new student stood next to him silently.

All eyes were now on the pale, bony boy. His jet-black hair reached to his chin, and he wore dark lace-up combat boots, skintight black pants, and a green button-down shirt underneath a black leather jacket. On his middle finger was a golden ring that appeared to have reindeer horns sticking out from it, and he wore an odd necklace: on a black leather string hung a tiny silver scepter that seemed to almost emit a blue glow. Someone coughed, "Emo," and almost everyone giggled except for Steve and the new student; the two of them simply looked confused.

Glaring at his students, Mr. Fury continued, "His name is Loki Laufey-"

"Odinson. Not Laufeyson. That- That was an accident in the paperwork," Loki corrected him immediately, an unpleasant look on his face that was more sad than angry. His wide aquamarine eyes were shiny for a moment before he shielded his face with his hair.

"Okay... Loki Odinson. He's from- Loki, where did you say you were from?"

"I am Loki, of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose," he said in a low, almost menacing tone.

"Okay, that's great. Now, go sit down next to Stark. That's the one who _should_ have his shirt on right now. Stark, stop showing Pepper your arc reactor!" Mr. Fury ordered, then called over the assistant, Ms. Hill, to split up Clint and Natasha, who had begun to wrestle. Loki sighed and walked towards Tony.

"Woah, Fury, he can't sit here. I don't play well with others," Tony warned. "Unless they've got big-"

"Shut up, Stark, and get to work. I gave you kids a worksheet over an hour ago, and not one of you have turned it in. I'll hold you back from Selvig's science class if I have to keep-" Mr. Fury began, but Tony put away his notebook and focused on his worksheet the second he mentioned holding him back from science class, and didn't even notice as Loki sat next to him, tenting his fingers mischievously. Mr. Fury smiled at Tony despite himself; he was a genius, and destined for even greater things than what he had already accomplished.

"Mr. Fury, sir, I'm done," Steve said, raising his hand politely.

"I'm sure it's good work as usual, Rogers," Mr. Fury complimented the muscular boy with perfectly combed hair and ironed clothes as he collected it; Tony looked up from his worksheet just long enough to roll his eyes. Mr. Fury continued, "I swear, I'd go insane if it weren't for- Barton, _get down from there_!"

Clint sighed and started to jump from the ceiling rafters back down to his seat, but Natasha pulled his chair away from his desk right before he landed in it. The entire class laughed as Clint fell on his back, cursing and crawling after the cackling redhead.

"Alright, kids, turn in your worksheets. It's time for lunch," Mr. Fury sighed. "I've given up on you guys. Just remember, you still have science with Selvig and P.E. with Coulson, and then you idiots can go home. Or if you're Clint, you'll go to your nest. I don't really care."

* * *

The students poured out into the hallways, Loki trailing behind all of them.

Steve noticed he was alone and thought about offering to eat lunch with him, but after one look into his cold, piercing eyes, he thought better of it and ran to catch up with the rest of the class.

He considered eating with Natasha. He liked her a lot, but he knew she liked Clint, and Clint liked her. He didn't want to get in their way; besides, he wasn't over Peggy yet, and he doubted he ever would be.

He almost decided to eat with Bruce, but he didn't know him very well, and Bruce always ate with Tony, James, and the girls. Bruce would eat silently, occasionally laughing as Tony was his obnoxious self around the females. It was like a live comedy show.

Sighing dejectedly, Steve went to the gymnasium. He wasn't very hungry, and punching bags were a good way to release frustration. Plus, Mr. Coulson was the P.E. teacher, and he loved Steve for some reason the boy couldn't fathom.

A split second after he opened the doors to the gymnasium, Mr. Coulson ran up to him with a new pair of bright red boxing gloves.

"Hey! Steve!" Mr. Coulson enthused. "I knew you'd come! Not that I'm like, following- I mean, um, I got you these new gloves. You're really good at punching things, and your old pair got really old and worn out, so, yeah-"

"Thank you, sir," Steve said with a smile. "It means a lot."

Mr. Coulson grinned ear-to-ear and retreated back into the supply room as Steve began destroying the punching bags. He could've sworn he saw the teacher's face peek out of the room a few times, but tried to disregard it. Instead, he focused on punching his anger and loneliness away.

* * *

Even Pepper couldn't distract Tony from the chemical equations he was working on.

"Rumor has it, Coulson's not in the supply room today," she informed him discreetly. "So we could always-"

"But if there was that much liquefied- What?" Tony looked up at her, perplexed. "Oh. Sorry, babe. Can't. Preparing something for Selvig. Tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow's Saturday. I'll be working at my mom's office all day," she reminded him. "Whatever. Have fun making out with science. Oh, wait, you can't." She flipped her strawberry-blonde hair and walked out of the cafeteria, but a tiny grin was just barely visible on her face.

Tony couldn't help but watch her as she walked. A lot of girls were pretty, but she was beautiful. She never played dumb, and she cared for him so much. He never understood why.

"Is she mad?" Bruce asked him as soon as she was out of sight.

"Don't think so," Tony answered him as he worked. "Don't care," he lied.

Bruce laughed, but could tell Tony wasn't being entirely honest. He nibbled at his salad while Tony zoned the world out.

The two best friends couldn't be more different; Bruce was mild-mannered and a goody-two-shoes (when he was in his right mind, at least), and Tony was a quintessential bad boy, the genius who never had to try and didn't follow any rules. Bruce would have been jealous if he didn't know Tony as well as he did. His father ignored him and Bruce could sense he wasn't really as happy and carefree as he let on.

Suddenly, Bruce felt a pair of eyes on him. He looked up to see Loki looking his way, the shadow of a smirk on his face. Bruce looked away, but a few minutes later, the sensation was still there, and he looked up to find that the new student was still looking at him in the strangest way.

"Hey, see that new kid, Loki?" Bruce whispered to Tony.

"Yeah? What about him?" he asked without looking up.

"Nothing, it's just... He keeps staring at me. I've never even talked to him," Bruce said, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.

"That would cause an explosion. A big explosion. Wow," Tony muttered to himself, obviously zoning out everything except his work.

James snickered; Bruce smiled understandingly and returned to his leafy greens. When he looked up again a few seconds later, Loki was nowhere to be seen.

"Huh," he murmured to himself, worried for a moment.

Shaking his head, he pulled out his science homework. He forgot all about the smirk once he was submerged into the world of biochemistry.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** Since I haven't read the Marvel comics, I use a combination of Wikipedia research and my imagination when making up back-stories or small details about a certain character. Let me know what you think!

* * *

**Chapter Two**

* * *

Out in the school yard, Clint was spying on Natasha from up in a tree. He knew it was weird, but he had liked her since he first laid eyes on her freshman year - when SHIELD had sent him on his first mission - and was pretty sure he loved her now.

She was so mysterious, and she was strong. He loved that she could beat him up. It might've been because his father beat his mother on a daily basis, making her powerless and weak, but Clint loved strength in women. He admired the way Natasha was confident and smart. But she was so secretive. He never knew if she felt the same way about him.

He pulled a bow and arrow out of his backpack, tied a note to the arrow, aimed it for her sandwich, and shot it to her spot underneath a tree about thirty meters away. He wouldn't have shot if he thought for a second he would have missed and hurt her. He watched with a smile as she unwrapped the note, shook her head, and made her way towards his lunchtime nest.

"Think you can climb up here, 'Tasha?" Clint called down to her. The tree was five meters high, and it was thick and knotted for an easy climb.

"I could do it in my sleep, Barton," she rolled her eyes as she speedily ascended up the tree and onto the branch directly across from his so that they were facing each other, only inches between them.

"Where'd you learn to be so good at _everything_?" he asked her before he could help himself.

She looked perfect with her long, brilliant hair waving behind her in the wind. Her pale skin glowed in the beams of sunlight that made their way between the gaps in the tree's branches.

"I'm- I was Russian. They trained us from a young age," she shrugged. "I don't want to talk about it," she added before he could say anything back. "You always ask. You never tell me about your childhood. That's not fair."

"You never asked me," he replied, faking offense. "I thought you didn't care."

"I'm asking now," she said with a hint of a smile. "What was your life like before this, before we met?"

He hesitated. "My parents died when I was young," he revealed. She was the first person at this school he had told.

"I'm sorry, Barton. What happened?" she inquired. "I mean, I get if you don't want to talk-"

"No, no," he insisted. He didn't want to make her feel bad. "My dad beat my mom... Every day, 'til he finally killed her. So, my brother killed him. Then he took me - he was fifteen and I was just seven - and we left and joined a circus. That's how I learned to shoot. But he and I got split up along the way. The circus disbanded because of, um, super-villains, and Mr. Fury found me, somehow, and invited me here."

Natasha was silent, sympathy visible in her eyes. She reached out and touched his shoulder gently. "I'm glad you're here now," she told him sincerely.

"I'm glad, too. I got to meet you," Clint responded, grinning ear to ear. His heart beating so loudly he was sure she could here it.

"Do you know why I sit underneath that tree every day at lunch?" she asked him.

"Actually, no," he admitted, realizing that this was the first time they had been together at lunch. He usually ate alone in different trees and watched her from afar, too afraid to speak.

He wasn't sure why he had asked her to join him today. Maybe it was because it was almost the end of the school year and he was afraid he wouldn't see her over summer break, or maybe it was because he was still dazed from his fall.

"It's because I know you go to different trees every day at lunch, and I keep hoping that one day you'll go to mine. But you never do," Natasha whispered. Her eyes were unflinching but her cheeks were tinged with pink.

Clint had never seen her blush before. He had never thought it possible, but she looked even more beautiful.

Without a second thought, he brought his hands up to her cheeks, warmth spreading through him rapidly. He guided their faces together, and her eyes fluttered shut a split second before their lips met.

He didn't think to shut his; he was too shocked that the moment he had imagined from the first day of school was finally reality. She pressed her open mouth against his fiercely, pulling him closer to her with his shirt. The moment seemed to last forever, and then-

He was falling towards the ground for the second time in less than two hours.

When he finally landed, thankfully on his hands and feet this time, he saw Natasha laughing up in the tree.

"'Tasha!" he shouted. "What the hell was that?"

She jumped down after him and gave him one more deep, amazing kiss before the bell rang and she sprinted back into the school, leaving a shocked Clint alone at his tree, touching his wet lips with his scraped fingers and wondering what had just happened.

* * *

The school basement was a hush-hush topic. Everyone in their right mind knew better than to go there or even openly talk about it, though according to the grapevine, Tony knew what secrets were hidden within it; the only thing all the other students knew was that it was where Mr. Fury, Mr. Selvig, Mr. Coulson, and the other teachers kept their supplies and secrets.

Well, all the other students except Loki.

He knew that it was said to be heavily guarded, but getting past guards usually wasn't too difficult for him. He knew what lied in the innermost chamber, and he needed to take it.

He walked down the steps calmly, soaking in his surroundings. Once he had what he was looking for, he'd be able to set his plan into motion.

_If I'm correct, which I probably am_, he thought to himself, _I can find the key to world domination in this lowly Midgardian high school, and father will finally see that I, too, am capable of greatness, not just Thor._

"Hello? Who's there? Fury? Selvig? Hello?" a guard's voice echoed throughout the underground corridor.

The metal floors and walls may have been impenetrable for mortals, but Loki lifted his scepter-necklace and in a flash of blue, blasted the walls down, crushing the guards and security cameras before they had even seen him and enabling him to pass through to the back room, all the locks and traps set to capture intruders having shattered into bits and pieces despite having once been made of some of the strongest materials known to man.

An alarm began blaring, but the shrill ringing of the school bell indicating the beginning of their next class had drowned it out to everyone upstairs.

Once Loki was in the final chamber of the basement, he simply jerked his scepter-necklace forward once more to blow apart the metal safe he knew the item he sought was enclosed in. Laughing wildly, he dug through the rubble to retrieve a small black suitcase.

"Yes, at last!" he hissed, shoving the surprisingly heavy suitcase into his emerald-green backpack and waving his fingers over the magical bag in order to lock it.

As soon as he heard frantic footsteps approaching the scene of the crime, he used his scepter-necklace to raze the chamber walls. He ran out into the sunlight and around to the entrance of the school before his pursuers had seen him. He waved his hand, and the impenetrable walls within the basement were restored to all of their former glory.

The bell was still ringing. Loki smiled, imagining Odin and Thor's reactions to his success, until he realized his eyes were wet.

Then, he shook his head, smoothed his clothes, ensured his backpack was securely fastened, and walked to his science class. Phase one was almost complete.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: **Let me know how I'm doing! I'm still not sure if this story is a joke or if it's serious. :P

* * *

**Chapter Three**

* * *

Science class had started thirty minutes ago, and Mr. Selvig hadn't showed up. Tony and Steve were the only two who were panicked, suspecting foul play; it was the first time they had agreed on anything.

"It's not like him. We should dispatch a search team," Steve suggested. Tony nodded, but Bruce frowned, looking unconvinced.

"He's probably just running late. SHIELD has surprise meetings with the council all the time," Bruce reminded them.

He looked up just in time to see Loki's eyes meet his. It was that smirk again. Bruce wondered what he was trying to hint at. He knew it couldn't be good.

"My dad would've told me about a meeting," Tony lied. His dad never told him anything. He just had a gut feeling something was off, like there was an unnamable force trying to push him out of the room. "Steve and I are going to go find out what's wrong. Is anyone else in?"

"I think there's something wrong. Something doesn't feel quite right," Clint spoke up. "So, I'm in."

Natasha frowned as he volunteered, but didn't move. They exchanged one last look before Tony said, "Great, we got the Hawk. Let's go see what's up," and the three boys left the room.

"Where should we look first?" Steve asked once they were in the hallway.

"We need to split up. Super-soldier, go to where Selvig eats lunch - in the first floor teacher's lounge - but if he's not there, go to Coulson and see what he knows, and if _he's_ not there, go to where the meetings are held. Oh, they're usually on the third floor. Go into the library and pull out the book 'A Survey of Old English Literature.' It should be towards the back, to the left. Put the code '4376' and look in while the bookshelf is rotating," Tony explained hastily. "I'll check the forest. He maps celestial findings out there sometimes. Clint, go to the phones. There's a girl named Jane he sometimes talks about Norse mythology with on Friday afternoons. If he's not there, go to the basement."

"How do you know-" his two companions began in unison, but Tony cut them off.

"Go!" he ordered.

"But the basement's off limits," Clint said. "I'm not about to get expelled and brainwashed because Selvig was taking his time eating lunch."

"No wonder Miss USSR won't date you. You're a little circus girl," Tony taunted him, a derisive grin plastered on the face that made girls squeal.

Clint glowered at him momentarily, but decided to obey Tony's orders. No one could deny that he was insanely intelligent. What if he was right about Natasha?

_But she kissed me. Twice. That has to mean something, right? I really hope it does_, he thought to himself. He quickly shook his head and focused on the job at hand, pulling his best bow and swiftest arrow from his bag.

Without another word, Clint dashed towards the phones in the lobby, Tony jumped out of the nearest window and disappeared into the verdant forest, and Steve ran to the teacher's lounge at the end of the hallway.

* * *

Steve knocked apprehensively on the door of the teacher's lounge. When no one answered, he kicked the door in. The lounge was empty, but he noticed a steaming mug of coffee and a clipboard tossed thoughtlessly to the ground. Upon further inspection, he saw the clipboard was for Mr. Selvig's science class. Steve's stomach lurched with fear. What had happened to cause their teacher to drop his coffee and class roster and make a run for it without even turning off the lights?

He made his way to the gymnasium and found the doors unlocked, lights on, and equipment lying out, including Steve's new red boxing gloves.

"Mr. Coulson?" Steve called. "Sir?" No one answered. He peeked into the supply closet; it was completely empty. Even Mr. Coulson's driving cart was gone. His heart began to race.

Instead of running to the library, however, Steve decided to make one stop of his own; he checked Mr. Fury's classroom. The lights were on and papers out, but the man himself was nowhere to be found.

"Calm down, Rogers, it could just be a meeting," he tried to reassure himself as he entered the third floor library. He located the book Tony had told him about, and understood at once why the directors used it to hide the keypad. Not only did it look like the most boring book in the universe, it was at least half a foot thick and released so much dust when pulled off of the mahogany shelf, Steve thought he might choke.

He had to wait for the dust cloud to clear before he could finally make out a keypad. He couldn't help but smile when he typed in "4376"; those were the numbers that corresponded with the word "HERO".

The bookshelf began unsteadily rotating within seconds. Steve peeked inside the opening it created, hoping that there was a meeting. Even if he'd get in trouble for trespassing, it was better than Mr. Selvig and the other teachers being in danger.

But as the rotating bookshelf came to a halt and Steve inspected his surroundings, he saw that the inside room was dark and empty save a long conference table, several cushioned chairs, and a huge flat-screen TV.

"Hello? Mr. Jones? Mr. Sitwell? Is anyone in there?" he called. No one answered him, so he decided to meet Tony in the forest.

_That's a lot of land to cover. He could use the help_, Steve rationalized with himself. Just because there wasn't a meeting, and there were signs that could indicate struggle... It didn't mean that anything bad was happening, right?

* * *

Back in the classroom, Loki rose from his seat and headed for the exit. He had one last piece of phase one of his plan to complete, and he was sure the boys had split up, making them easier targets. The force of the Tesseract had gotten to their heads, pushing them out of the room and into free territory where they could be snatched with no witnesses.

"Where are you going, Loki?" Natasha asked him coolly as he began to walk out of the science room. She saw Bruce, James, and Pepper staring at her in her peripheral vision, the expressions on their faces making it clear that they thought she had made a poor decision in confronting the new kid.

"It's not of your concern," Loki spat. "Now, shoo." He turned away from her and expected her to leave him alone, but she was persistent.

"We really should wait. You can get in a lot of trouble for cutting class," she informed him. At this point, they were in the hallway outside of the room, completely alone. "Come on. It'll be fun," she whispered, leaning into him suggestively. She tried to make her act as convincing as possible, but all she could think of was a skinny little circus boy with the cutest freckles sprinkled across his nose and smooth brown hair he constantly had to push out of his soft brown eyes. She took a deep breath and forced herself to keep going; tricking Loki could help her save the boy she really loved. "I can keep you - occupied - until Selvig gets back."

Loki laughed coldly. "And what would your boyfriend, the archer, say about that?" he hissed. "You filthy harlot! Leave my presence at once!"

She turned away, then changed her mind and prepared to fight.

"You're up to something, Odinson. And I intend to find out what it is," she said confidently.

"Oh, you won't," he replied mock-cheerfully. "Ta-ta, Midgardian wench."

"What did you just call me?" she asked, genuinely confused. It sounded like something from a fairy tale... Not that she ever read those.

"Nothing an incompetent mortal like you would comprehend," he sighed, and then disappeared in the blink of an eye.

"Mortal?" she whispered incredulously to herself, touching the ground where he had stood only moments ago and wondering how he had just _disappeared_.

What had she just witnessed? She inched carefully back into the classroom, locking the door behind her but unsure if it would do any good.

"He's calling me a mortal... Like- Like he isn't..."


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: **Am I doing the characterization right? I mean, I'm trying to make them a bit more immature and hormonal and teenager-y, since the point of this story is that they're younger. What do you think?

* * *

**Chapter Four**

* * *

Loki arrived in the lobby and was about to continue descending to the basement when he overheard a conversation from the telephone booth area just around the corner.

"Sorry, I don't know who Thor is... Selvig's your friend? We're trying to find him, Jane- Jane Foster? Do you have any idea where he'd be? I've just been told he's not in a meeting... Thor's brother could've done something? I'm not sure who his brother is... Say that again? _Loki_? What else do you know about Loki? He did _what_?"

Charging towards the telephone booths, Loki pulled out his scepter-necklace and summoned a cloud of blue energy, shooting it through the boy on the phone, Clint Barton.

His eyes clouded over, and an electric-blue light seemed to pass through his entire being. Clint fell over, limp and helpless for a moment, and then he got back on his feet. His strength was intact, but his mind was gone.

The telephone swung like a pendulum on its cord. A girl's voice could just barely be heard through the receiver.

"Hello? Hello? Darcy, shut up. I'm not going back to class, something's wrong!"

With a swift movement of his hand, Loki blew up the phone. The plastic was blown apart so finely that it showered them like snow. For a moment, Loki shifted underneath the white powder uncomfortably, but hurriedly composed himself.

"Ah, yes," he chuckled mirthlessly. "It's good this happened before my br- _Thor's_ woman told you too much about my past. Now we need more of you, and then you'll help me escape, lover boy."

Clint only nodded and followed his new master.

* * *

"He's not here, Tony," Steve groaned. The two of them were covered in dirt and leaves. "We've been out here for ages. I say we check the basement."

Tony hesitated. He hated admitting he was wrong, but the two of them were undoubtedly exhausted, and nothing fruitful had come out of their thorough search through the forest. "_Maybe_ you're right," he offered slowly, "but there's still some land down by the waterfall-"

"Would Mr. Selvig really be there?" Steve asked skeptically.

Tony thought for a minute before he sighed and shook his head. "Let's just get out of- Steve?"

Steve Rogers was nowhere to be found.

* * *

"Well, what do we have here?" Loki arrived in the basement with a practiced grin.

"What are you doing here, Loki?" Mr. Fury asked, annoyed. "There's been a break-in. We're kinda busy right now, if you haven't noticed. Get back to class."

"Oh, but haven't you heard? Selvig is _missing_!" Loki replied, sarcastic terror in his voice.

"I'm right here," the old man called from behind a set-up of flashing and beeping computer screens. "Now get back to class. Tell Stark he can lead today."

"The young fool has fled the room in search of you, Selvig. But I've found you first!" Loki shouted, and with a flash of blue light, Selvig was flooded by the same electric aura that Clint had been possessed by, and within seconds, the two henchmen were lined up behind their new commander.

"What did you do?" Mr. Fury demanded, holding a gun up to Loki's chest. He fired away, only to discover the Loki he'd shot was a hologram that faded away. "Hey, wait. Those powers... What are you? Wait... Thor mentioned-"

Before he could finish, Loki had sneaked up behind him and shot. Mr. Fury collapsed, writhing in pain on the cold metal floor.

Teachers began pouring into the room, but with a few touches to his necklace, the men and women were either possessed or being blasted into walls and shot clean though with the blue scepter aura. It was only seconds before most of them were down.

With his henchmen supporting him, an exhausted god of mischief collapsed into Mr. Coulson's driving cart for the shooting unit in P.E. and had Mr. Selvig drive him through a freshly blown apart wall and into the forest. He still had to pick up the super-soldier, an animal he had caught in a trap.

"Hey, that's my car!" Mr. Coulson yelled, but Loki blasted him back as he rubbed his sleepy, salty eyes.

"Oh, Philip Coulson, do not cross my path again. For your own good," Loki whispered as they reached the outskirts of the forest.

"Philip? I thought his first name was Mister!" said a shocked-sounding voice from behind them.

Loki turned to see the teenage genius in a suit of iron blocking their path.

"Oh, I don't have time for you," Loki yawned. "I haven't slept in _month_s-"

Tony Stark raised his hand and blew Loki out of the cart before the Asgardian knew what was going on.

"You didn't," Loki growled as he got back up.

"Um, no. I just did. Are you gonna go cry about it? Oh, wait, you already are crying!" Tony laughed. "Now where's Steve?"

"The little drummer boy? Only I know where-"

"Hey, Tony, help me out, will you?" Steve called from somewhere far above, sounding groggy. "I'm stuck in this tree!"

Tony laughed as jets shot out from the bottom of his iron suit.

"I could use one of those," Loki contemplated for a moment on whether he should fight him for it. "But I could use a nap even more. Let's get out of here while they're distracted, shall we? The trap is still activated. I think the two mortal boys will find themselves in a rather - ah - sticky situation for the next few hours."

Mr. Selvig slammed on the gas and Clint refilled his quiver, having shot down some teachers during the scuffle in the basement.

"Oh, Barton?" Loki added as they pulled away. "You don't love Natasha Romanoff. Love gets you nowhere. It's a disappointment. If you see her, try to kill her. That's a command."

Clint Barton nodded as a tear stained Loki's cheeks.

* * *

In the distance, two boys could be heard screaming from up in a tree.

"Only Pepper gets to touch me there!"

"I can't help it! I'm stuck! I don't want to!"

"Why the hell did my suit come off?"

"You don't _have_ to grab my butt."

"Oh, right. Sorry, super-soldier."

"It's- It's okay. When do you think this'll deactivate? My legs are stuck-"

"I know where they're stuck, Cap! This better deactivate soon. It's getting pretty hot in this goddamned cage. I'd probably be able to disable it if I could see, but my head's right where the sun don't shine. Fuck you, Loki!"


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note:** THOR THOR THOR THOR THOR. Sorry, I had to get that out. I love Thor. Moreover, I love his relationship with Loki. Okay. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please let me know if I'm making any mistakes in grammar, characterization, or otherwise. I am changing the story a bit, so it isn't a carbon-copy of the events that unfolded in the Avengers film. Remember, reviews are love!

* * *

**Chapter Five**

* * *

"Father, I need to go to Midgard," Thor begged, kneeling before the king. "Loki..." Thor hesitated, the look in Odin's eyes unreadable.

The great hall was empty except for the two of them, and the word "Loki" echoed throughout the gigantic area. A shadow passed over Odin's face at the sound's reverberations.

"I know he is in trouble, Thor. Heimdall tells me of his actions," Odin revealed tonelessly.

"He has spoken to me, too! I must go and bring him home," Thor insisted, "or Midgard-"

"I know of Jane Foster!" Odin thundered suddenly. "Do not try to fool me by claiming to care for Loki when all you want is to see her! It is not wise to get involved with a mortal. Their grip on life is weak. In the blink of an eye, they are gone!"

Thor frowned, a wave of pain crashing into his heart. "You-You think I only _claim_ to care for Loki? Of course I care for my own brother!" he asked, barely whispering. The doubtful expression on Odin's visage angered him, and his voice grew louder. "I do consider him my own brother still, father, and I love him! I love Jane, too, but I want to work for the good of Midgard as a whole! I am their protector, one of many, and they need me now more than ever, now that Loki has lost himself! Did you not help the Midgardians when the Jotunn invaded all those years ago? Please, father. I beg of you. You are powerful enough to conjure a portal!"

Odin was silent for several minutes before he steepled his fingers and asked, "If I do send you to Midgard, how will I know if I will be able to create a portal to bring you and your brother back?"

"That is a risk I will have to take," Thor responded without a moment of hesitation. Odin paused, his eyes piercing into his son.

"You are brave, Thor. Heimdall and I will generate a portal for you before nightfall," Odin complied with the faintest trace of a smile on his face.

"Thank you, father!" Thor exclaimed, bowing.

Odin simply nodded. "Will the warriors accompany you?" he inquired.

"No. I will not put them in Midgard unless I am sure they will be able to return home. I am on my own with the mortals again," Thor said confidently. "I shall go prepare now. Thank you once more, father."

"Good luck, my son," Odin called behind him as he left. "You'll need it," he mumbled once Thor was out of earshot.

* * *

Pepper Potts was a practical girl, but like her mother always said, love made a woman do impractical things.

Like climb up a giant tree with a laser gun to free her boyfriend and a super-soldier from a trap.

Kicking off her heels, she attached SHIELD grip pads, reserved for agents except in special cases - and this was definitely a special case - and fashioned so that she didn't have to use much body strength at all, which was a relief, since she didn't have any. With the tiny laser gun shoved into her bra, she climbed nimbly to the top of the tree where Tony and Steve were stuck in an uncomfortably close position.

"Did I just walk in on my boyfriend cheating?" Pepper said dryly.

"Pepper!" Tony yelped, though he couldn't see her. "How did you get here?"

"It doesn't matter, just get us out. Soon. Please," Steve requested weakly.

The boys were trapped in what appeared to be a spider's web, only thicker and stickier.

"Fury sent Ms. Hill, Mr. Woo, James, Natasha, Bruce, and I here to stop Loki," Pepper elucidated as she fired the laser gun and the web began to melt away. "Apparently, he got Mr. Selvig and Clint."

She shook her head before her eyesight became blurred with tears. She was worried that Tony wouldn't take the news well, but she felt even worse for Natasha. She and Pepper were casual friends, and it was obvious she was crazy about the boy.

"Loki? Selvig? Where? How?" Tony questioned her frantically. "Tell me everything you- Ah!" he cursed as she accidentally burnt his leg with the laser gun.

"Sorry! I'm not experienced with weapons!" Pepper apologized. "Almost done. I'll tell you what happened as soon as I get you two down. Tony, where's your suit?"

"It came apart in this web. It's like this trap is magic or something," he said. "It doesn't make sense. There was this blue light..."

"There are some pieces of it," Steve noticed, pointing further up in the tree. "It got blasted up into the branches."

"I think I can climb now. I'll go get it and fly us down," Tony said as he wriggled free of Steve and jumped to the top branches to reassemble his suit.

"Okay, Steve, this might hurt," Pepper grimaced as she aimed the gun right at his pelvis, where a thick layer of sticky spider web held him down. "I'm so, so sorry." Steve squeezed his already watering blue eyes shut and clenched his jaw. Tony cringed as he heard Steve's screams.

Within a few minutes, Pepper and Steve had climbed down, and Tony had just finished putting his suit back together. "Alright, guys," he called down to them as he perched himself on the edge of a branch. "Flying down in 3, 2, 1-"

But as Tony threw himself off of the gargantuan tree, he realized something was seriously wrong- his shoe-jets weren't activating.

"Oh, shit," he muttered as he started to spiral out of control. He was sure his suit would crash and burn and he'd turn into road kill. After all, he wasn't a super-soldier, just a seventeen year old boy. He shut his eyes and braced himself...

But the moment of impact didn't come, not in the way he was expecting. Instead, something caught him.

He trembled with relief and thanked his lucky stars as he opened his eyes and realized that it was actually _someone_ who caught him.

"Steve?" Tony rolled out of his arms and spread himself out on the ground. "Thanks, bro."

Steve blushed, temporarily distracted from the throbbing pain in his arms. Had Tony Stark actually _thanked_ him?

After a few minutes of relaxation, Tony allowed Steve to help him to his feet. Pepper raised her eyebrows, and explained the situation to the two of them as they searched for Ms. Hill, Mr. Woo, Natasha, James, and Bruce.

* * *

"They're heading towards the highway. Get them!" Mr. Fury yelled into his walkie-talkie, breathing heavily. "I'm down for now. Coulson's God-knows-where. Selvig, Barton, and a few others- have been lost. Whoever's left, you're our last hope!"

"Clint Barton, you better be okay, you stupid circus boy," Natasha whispered to no one in particular as she and all the others ran towards the highway.

The group was led by Ms. Hill, Natasha, Steve, Tony, and James. Pepper and Bruce trailed behind, the former because of her running skills, or lack thereof, and the latter in an attempt to keep himself as cool, calm, and collected as possible.

But what Loki had done just made him so _angry_. He was angry at himself, too, for not doing anything about the weird looks he was getting from Loki. He felt that he should have known something really bad was going to happen, and he should have tried to stop it.

"We won't be able to catch up with him!" Steve said, panting as they reached the highway. "The cart is all the way over there" - he pointed to a zooming white dot in the distance - "and we can't shoot at it without putting everyone Loki possessed into the line of fire."

"We'll just have to risk-" Ms. Hill began, but Natasha leaped in front of her.

"Don't you _dare_," she threatened. "Clint would never do that to any of you."

Ms. Hill contorted her lips as though she had just tasted something bitter. "But they have the-"

"I don't care what they have. It's not fair to them. Selvig's the best teacher here, and Clint..." Natasha's voice broke.

No one had the heart to protest.

"She's right," Bruce agreed, breaking the silence. "Besides, there's something not quite human about him. If that makes sense," he added.

"You would know, bad boy," Tony smiled, winking at his friend.

"What should we do now?" Steve asked as Pepper wrapped Natasha in a tight hug. Natasha looked uncharacteristically embarrassed. She was trying desperately to revert her face back to its usual expressionless mask.

"We should go help all the injured, and then formulate a plan to find Loki and get back what he's taken," Mr. Woo answered.

"I'd love to play nurse, but I'll be in the science lab fixing my suit," Tony excused himself as politely as he knew how to. "Potts, expect a man in a shiny iron suit to be waiting outside your mom's office tomorrow. Twenty-sixth floor, right?"

Pepper rolled her eyes but couldn't help the stupid grin that formed on her face whenever he spoke to her. "Four o'clock. Don't be late," she ordered.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," he vowed. "Well, maybe the _world_-"

"Shut up, Tony," Pepper taunted him playfully.

With one last look at the girl he thought he might _love_, if he was capable of such a ludicrous notion, Tony ran back towards the school, anxious to fix his suit before his date.

"I think I might throw up," James remarked as Pepper giggled to herself.

"Wait, Ms. Hill, I have a question about our mission," Steve cut in before any more talk of love and relationships made the flashbacks of Peggy incapacitate him completely. "What is it that Loki stole?"

Ms. Hill's voice was shaky when she finally spoke. "You know a lot about it, soldier. It's the unlimited source of energy that could make world domination and even world destruction _very_ possible."

Steve knew exactly what she was talking about, and dread filled him. So separating himself from Peggy had only been prolonging the inevitable.

"He's taken the Tesseract, hasn't he?" he finished for her. "And he's planning to take over the world with it."

No one had to look up to tell that the teacher was nodding.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: **Okay, the story kind of changes here. Let me know what you think!

* * *

**Chapter Six**

* * *

Loki finally let himself rest when his henchmen had set up camp in Chicago. He had no idea what day it was, let alone the time, but it was dark, and he was so tired, his eyelids were almost as heavy as his heart when he thought of Thor.

"Keep watch, you poor love-struck fool... Lucky, love-struck idiot," Loki muttered to Clint as he started to fall asleep.

Clint only nodded and perched himself on the roof of the modest Midwestern home they had broken into. Loki thought it a small but necessary conquest, and more profitable than his attempt to kill the Jotunn.

He was wrapped in a warm blanket on a squashy memory-foam mattress, and even had a mug of hot cocoa prepared for him by his new maidservant - the resident of the home, a sixteen-year-old girl who had the misfortune of being home alone for the weekend while her parents vacationed. He hadn't even needed to possess her mind with his scepter-necklace to get her to obey his orders; she was paralyzed with fear and disbelief. Normal people were fascinating that way, Loki discovered.

Mr. Selvig and the other possessed teachers were guarding the Tesseract, not that anyone would suspect it to be in a middle-class urban neighborhood hundreds of miles away from the SHIELD Prep campus. The Windy City was already an energy powerhouse. What more would the Tesseract and an angry Asgardian god do?

Loki's dreams of home were interrupted by warnings from the Chitauri leader to bring them the Tesseract in exchange for their army. He tossed and turned and screamed and didn't protest when the mortal girl handed him a bottle of sleeping pills. He guzzled around thirty and everything began to go black.

"These pills... I like them," he mumbled somewhere between reality and the dreamless sleep he so desired. "Another..."

He dropped the bottle to the ground, his fingers going limp.

* * *

"So, where exactly are we headed?" Steve asked Natasha, scratching his aching head. They had gone an entire day without sleep, the one thing teenagers needed most.

Mr. Fury hurriedly had the two of them get into a SHIELD helicopter, explaining the Avengers Initiative, and ordered them track down Loki using the advanced electronic equipment Steve had no idea how to make sense of.

Natasha was a little bit less confused, but electronics were always Tony and Bruce's strong point. Both of them were nowhere to be found. She wondered briefly why Mr. Fury hadn't sent them with, and then her mind wandered off to thoughts of the boy she had been so happy with just hours ago.

"Somewhere in eastern Illinois or western Indiana," Natasha responded a few minutes later. Clint was all she could think of, and it was distracting. "This map tells us that there's been some unexplainable spike in energy there, which means there's a good chance-"

"-That Loki's taken the Tesseract there," Steve finished for her. They were currently somewhere over Nevada, and although the helicopter was fast, it would be hours before they reached Illinois. "Listen, Natasha, I'll keep watch. You go to bed," he offered. Her exhaustion was scarily apparent, as well as the heartbreak she was currently suffering through.

"That's not fair to you, though," Natasha frowned. "Besides, do you even know how-"

"I'm not as dumb as I look. Just because I was frozen for 70 years... Besides, it's on autopilot. I'll just have to keep trying to get a hold of Tony and Bruce, and I'll wake you up when we get to Illinois," he said, stifling a yawn for her sake. "I know you're upset about- I know how that- Never mind. Just get some sleep."

But instead, her eyes widened. "Who was she?" Natasha inquired, guilt simmering inside of her. She had never thought Steve of all people would know what she was going through.

Steve shook his head. "I don't want to talk about Peggy right now. Please. Sleep." He peeled off his soft wool jacket and fashioned it into a pillow for her.

For a second, Natasha wondered who Peggy was. Then, fatigue overtook her. She graciously accepted the pillow, curled up in a corner, and fell asleep almost immediately.

Steve listened to her deep, even breaths and relaxed for a moment before he went back onto the computer and tried to figure out how to send a message to the teachers requesting Tony and Bruce for back-up.

"Well, this has an envelope symbol on it," Steve reasoned with himself, studying the buttons on the keyboard he had a feeling Mr. Coulson had designed especially simply specifically for him. "Okay, now I can choose a name... To send it to! Mr. Fury... Ms. Hill..."

After a few minutes, he managed to type a message reading "PLEASE SEND TONY AND BRUCE TO US FOR BACK UP STOP WE SHOULD FIND LOKI AND THE TESSERACT BY TOMORROW STOP". Steve reread the message to himself and nodded, the feeling of triumph washing over him as he pressed the "SEND" button.

* * *

"Shit, Tony, my mom's coming!" Pepper hissed as she buttoned up her cream-colored blouse and smoothed down her pleated skirt.

Tony's perfectly tanned skin was still exposed, and he didn't rush to put his shirt back on. "Maybe I can charm her," he contemplated as Pepper licked her hands and tried to calm his unkempt black hair.

"She doesn't exactly know about your arc reactor. That might freak out a 45-year-old woman whose idea of excitement is buying new utensils for the kitchen. Put your shirt on and make it look like we were studying!" Pepper chastised him, flipping open science books.

"Oh. Right. We got a _lot_ of studying done," he laughed, goosing her playfully.

She smacked him over the head as gently as possible. She would _not_ let the way his eyes crinkled when he smiled distract her this time-

Before she knew it, their lips were smashed together again, and he was unbuttoning her shirt as quickly as she had re-buttoned it just seconds ago.

The door swung open, and Pepper threw herself off of him as though he was burning hot.

_Well, he is_, she thought to herself. She had waited years to get him to herself, and now it seemed like they barely had any time to spend alone.

"It's not what it looks like," Tony said automatically, but where they had expected to see Mrs. Potts stood Mr. Fury instead.

"You're lucky I'm not her mother," Mr. Fury said, shaking his head. "Now, Stark, put some pants on!"

"Oh, my God," Pepper whispered, mortified. She had forgotten all about _pants_. "Um... Tony," she said softly as he looked around, confused, for his jeans. "They're in the bathroom." Her face grew painfully hot.

"Ah," Tony remembered. "My bad."

Mr. Fury pressed his fingers to his temples. "Hurry up, Stark," he urged. "We've got a mission for you. The Avengers Initiative. You know all about it, don't you?"

"I've done some independent research," Tony called from the bathroom. He hobbled back in, still climbing into his jeans. "Well, my suit's ready to go. What do you need me to do?"

"Recruit Banner. Find Rogers and Romanoff, and join them while they track down Loki. Capture him at all costs," Mr. Fury commanded.

"Even if we can't retrieve the Tesseract?" Tony asked as he put on his suit of iron.

"Well... No. We need that," Mr. Fury admitted awkwardly.

"Thought so," Tony said darkly. "See, that's the reason I was so hesitant to go to SHIELD Prep and join the Avengers Initiative. I meant it when I said I did my own research, Fury, and I'm not sure I'm okay with-"

"Just go!" Mr. Fury yelled, looking at Pepper desperately for help.

"Go. Save the world," Pepper said quietly to Tony. She wished he could accompany him, but she would only be a burden.

Tony sighed and gave her one last kiss. He loved how she glowed when they were together. He loved how she didn't have to be supernatural or a trained Russian spy to be powerful in her own way. He loved how he felt when he was with her. He realized that must mean he loved _her_. He was more than okay with that. She was the best thing that had ever happened to him.

"Call me," Pepper called to him with a small, nervous smile as he flew out of her bedroom window.

Mr. Fury sighed and left.

* * *

"Come on, Banner. We can't do this without you," Tony pleaded after he had explained the Avengers Initiative to his friend.

"You could probably do it a lot more efficiently without me, actually," Bruce corrected him.

They sat in his home, a small cottage (broken and rebuilt twice) in the woods a few miles away from their school. Bruce tried to stay as far away from civilization as possible. Tony had invited him a thousand times to live in the Stark family's mansion, claiming his dad wouldn't even notice and his mother would love to have him, but Bruce had politely refused each time, worried he'd have an episode and destroy all of the technological equipment the Starks had created despite the fact that he hadn't transformed into "the other guy" since ninth grade.

Still, it was the possibility - and the fact that there was no way out - that left him living life in fear. He was kept under surveillance by SHIELD since his suicide attempt freshman year; not even Tony knew that. Bruce would be surrounded by teachers the minute he raised a gun to his head, not that shooting himself would do anything except bring out the Hulk, angrier than ever... Just like last time.

"Please? You can control yourself _amazingly_ well. We won't expose you to the battle until we don't have any other options. You can wait in the helicopter until then," Tony promised.

"I almost killed you freshman year," Bruce reminded him.

"Water under the bridge," Tony replied, waving his hand. "If we don't have you, that queen bitch Loki could take over the world."

"I doubt that. I'm not that important," Bruce said. He felt guilty turning down his friend - a friend who had helped him through so much - but it was better than the alternative.

Turning into the angry green giant could hurt innocent people. All Bruce had wanted to do was help. He was just a child prodigy messing with gamma radiation in the hopes of becoming a superhero.

Tony paused, then pointed his finger at Bruce and said accusingly, "You almost killed me freshman year! I spent a week in the hospital because of you. That's a week I could've spent saving the world-"

"Oh, no," Bruce groaned. He knew where Tony was going with this. "What happened to 'water under the bridge'?"

"-So you owe me a week of life-saving," Tony said with a smirk. "Pack your bags, rage monster!"

* * *

**Reviews make me happy! Please leave me one? Or as much as you want? A big thank you to everyone who's reviewed so far. You're great. :3**


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note: **Big thanks to piogeo for reviewing so much! And thanks to all the other readers and reviewers. Keep 'em coming!

* * *

**Chapter Seven**

* * *

As the sky shifted from a dark blue to a deep orange, Natasha awoke, feeling surprisingly well rested. The helicopter was still in one piece, which was a good sign.

"Rogers?" Natasha yawned, lifting her head from its cozy position nuzzled in Steve's jacket. "You can sleep now..."

She got up and stretched only to find Steve asleep in the pilot's seat, next to the computer. She couldn't help but laugh when she saw the message he had sent. He was so old-fashioned, but she thought everyone could use some old-fashioned once in a while. It was a breath of fresh air from the crazy, fast-paced world of today.

"Natasha?" Steve murmured, still half-asleep. His usually perfectly combed blonde hair was ruffled sloppily from a night of restlessness. "I fell asleep a while ago. I was supposed to be keeping watch. I'm so sorry..."

"_Shhh_. Get some rest, soldier. That's a command," she urged him, unfolding the wool jacket pillow and placing it on his broad shoulders. He shut his eyes without another word.

Natasha made sure he was asleep before she let her eyes expel the salty tears they had been holding back for what felt like forever. She hated crying; she always had. There was a time she would have gotten beaten for it. But she couldn't help it.

The inability to control her emotions pained her more than the stinging from the salty tears filling her eyes. She was taught that emotions and crying were for the weak. Did Clint make her weak? Was she better off without him? A small wail escaped from her mouth at the thought.

Thankfully, the large helicopter had a washroom facility. She speedily climbed into the shower, where the warm water washed away her weakness. A few meters away, a fully awake Steve Rogers wished there was something he could do to make her happy. But the only person who could make her happy was under the control of a power-hungry, lethal, mentally unstable super-villain.

* * *

"James? What are you doing here?" Pepper asked. It was only five in the morning, and it was a Sunday. What was Tony's best friend, James Rhodes, doing at her door? "Tony's not-"

"I know he's not here," James said with a frown. "I'm here to ask _you_ something."

"Oh. Come in," Pepper said, slightly perplexed. No one ever asked her anything except whether or not she was really sleeping with Tony Stark, and, well, James knew the answer to that. "Try not to wake up my mom," she managed to crack a smile. She hadn't slept all night; she was too worried.

"Nice pajamas," James observed. "Did Tony buy them for you?"

Pepper blushed, wrapping her arms around her skimpy lace nightie that still smelled of musky cologne and something uniquely _Tony_ that made her feel less alone at night. "Yes, but if my mom asks, there was a sale at Victoria's Secret last weekend."

James nodded. "Well, I came here to ask-" he started, but was interrupted by several loud knocks to the door.

"Who could that be?" Pepper wondered. "It's five in the morning, for Christ's sake!"

"It's Mr. Coulson. Let me in, please," the teacher's timid voice passed through the thin door.

"Since when are you polite about barging in on other people?" a young woman with an unrecognizable voice said crossly.

"Virginia, what _is_ that racket?" Pepper's mother yelled from upstairs.

"I just had to ask you-" James began once more.

"Ms. Potts, open the-"

"Darcy, turn off your iPod, for-"

"Everyone, STOP!" Pepper shouted.

Everything went silent.

Pepper took a deep breath and opened the door with a cordial smile. Mr. Coulson's face went beet red. "Do you want me to wait for you to get dressed, Ms. Potts?" he offered, looking down. "I'm your _teacher_..."

But Pepper ignored him. She was staring at the two girls her age standing behind Mr. Coulson in the doorway. The one on the right looked nervous and agitated while the one on the left was picking at her chipped sparkly green nail polish and listening to music on her iPod. "What's going on, Mr. Coulson?" Pepper asked.

"With the threat of world domination by Loki, potential targets need somewhere safe to go. Since your house is monitored by SHIELD teachers-"

"What?" Pepper shouted. "I'm _monitored_?"

"Every student is. We all know more about your relationship than we'd like to, trust me," Mr. Coulson blurted, obviously flustered.

Pepper's jaw dropped. "So who are they?" she quickly changed the subject to drown out James's laughter, not to mention that the sound of her mother walking down the steps had been incentive enough to stop talking about her sex life.

"Loki has a brother, Thor, who he had a small argument with," Mr. Coulson explained.

"Small? He sent an alien robot to New Mexico and tried to kill us all!" the girl on the right protested. Her brown eyes were flashing with anger and fear. The girl on the left was twirling her dark brown hair in her Ring Pop-clad finger.

"Okay, it was a big argument. Family stuff," Mr. Coulson continued. "Basically, this is Thor's lady friend Jane and her best friend Darcy. Selvig was their mentor before he came to work at the SHIELD campus. They're studying science at a private technical school in New Mexico, but it's not safe for them to be there now. Loki might want to get revenge on his brother, and that includes the people Thor is close to."

"Virginia Giselle Potts! What is going on here? _What_ are you wearing?" Mrs. Potts shrieked. She had gotten home late last night from her part-time job as a professional cellist, and was more than a little bit hung over. "My curlers are still in and you invited people over? And _what are you wearing_? Your father's probably rolling in his grave right now!" The embarrassed-looking older woman in a nightgown and slippers shook her head. "Phil?" she squeaked when her shiny emerald eyes landed on the teacher.

"There was a sale at Victoria's-" Pepper lied, but Mr. Coulson stopped her.

"Pepper, take Jane and Darcy to the rooms they'll be staying in and get them some refreshments. James, carry their luggage. Jennifer, I'll explain everything," Mr. Coulson said, looking just as mortified as Mrs. Potts.

"Since when is my mom 'Jennifer'?" Pepper asked him huffily, but gestured to Jane and Darcy and walked them across the hall to her bedroom.

The Potts lived in a small, modest home. Pepper was nervous about bringing Tony over when they first began dating, but he had been surprisingly kind about everything, complimenting her mother's cooking and choice of decor. The home was painted an array of pastel colors and filled with tacky '80s furniture. The second floor only contained Mrs. Pott's disgustingly purple bedroom, bathroom, and at-home office.

The first floor consisted of a tiny pink bathroom, a green kitchen, a yellow living room, and Pepper's bedroom, which she had remodeled as soon as she saved up the money to do so (her summer job as a secretary's assistant at Stark Industries the summer before seventh grade was how it all started).

Pepper's light-orange painted room was thankfully rather large, since she was an only child and the room was meant for two. Her queen-sized mattress was in a simple white bed frame that had a trundle bed underneath, and there was a jean couch that pulled out into a futon, a gift from Tony so Pepper's mother would allow them to have sleepovers (she trusted they would sleep on opposite sides of the room).

All of the beds had matching striped sheets and plain lime-green duvets. In the center of the room was an oval mirror in a white frame and a matching white dresser. Pepper kept most of her clothes neatly hanging and color-coordinated in her closet, an alcove on the right side of the room, so the spacious dresser had lots of empty drawers.

Pepper exhaled deeply. She hoped these girls wouldn't be messy; she was obsessed with order and organization. "I'm sorry about Loki trying to kill you," she said sympathetically. "I'm Pepper Potts." She extended a hand to the girls, and they shook her hand gratefully. "So, we have a bed, trundle, and futon...Jane, you can take the bed-"

"Oh, no, I don't mind the futon! It's by the window, too, so I can study the stars better there," the girl said enthusiastically, a wild gleam in her eyes. Her chocolate-brown hair shone in the sunlight pouring in from the wide window over the futon.

"Alright, then," Pepper smiled and turned to the quirky girl with a distant look in her eyes. "Darcy, you can take the bed."

"Huh? Oh, no. I can take the trundle! I'll be fine!" she assured Pepper cheerfully.

"If you insist," Pepper shrugged. "The last two rows of the dresser are yours, and go put whatever you want in the bathroom."

James arrived, panting, and dropped their two suitcases to the ground. "What do you guys have in there?" he asked as he caught his breath.

"I know, right? It's all of Jane's equipment. It's as heavy as, like, Meow-meow," Darcy giggled.

"She means Mjolnir," Jane corrected, seeing the confused looks on the faces of Pepper and James. "Thor's hammer."

"Wait, you mean like the super heavy hammer from Norse mythology?" James's jaw dropped like he'd had a sudden revelation. "I knew the names Thor and Loki sounded familiar! And Asgard! Oh, my-"

"I know. It's all real. I was shocked too," Jane laughed. "I kissed the god of thunder." She shrugged like it was no big deal, but she seemed to radiate with happiness as she reminisced.

"It's funny 'cause she's an astrophysicist!" Darcy added.

"Wait...I'm confused. Mythology is coming to life?" Pepper asked, eyes wide. "Thor and Loki are _gods_?"

"Basically. Alien gods from Asgard. Which is why it sucks that Loki wants to invade earth now. Or, as they call it, Midgard," Jane responded. "And they've got Selvig..." Her voice trailed off.

"He'll be okay," James said adamantly. "I've gotta go, Pepper. I'll catch up with you guys later." He walked out of the room, and Pepper briefly wondered what he was going to ask her.

"Look, I'll help you guys unpack, then we can go shopping or bake cookies or something. Accompanied by teachers, of course," Pepper suggested to the two girls, still stomaching the idea of Norse gods. "It'll get our minds off of this mess, since there's really nothing we can do."

Jane hesitantly nodded, and Darcy joyfully clapped her hands. The latter ran off to unpack her things, but Jane lingered. "Wait, how are you connected to all of this?" she asked Pepper.

"Oh, um," Pepper stammered, "well, my boyfriend is Iron Man."

Jane's jaw dropped, but before she could say anything, Darcy squealed from the bathroom, "Why is there a boy's undershirt in here?"

The sound of Mrs. Potts screaming could be heard down the block.

* * *

**Remember to review! Thanks for reading. The next chapter should be posted soon. That's when things really start to get... interesting.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note:** Thanks to everyone who's reading and reviewing, keep it up. :) And any criticism or advice is more than welcome, okay.

* * *

**Chapter Eight**

* * *

Steve and Natasha were eating breakfast in silence as they passed over Iowa when two silhouettes appeared in the russet sky.

"I wonder who they could be," Natasha commented sarcastically.

"It's about time," Steve said, proud his message had been correctly sent and received.

_I'm really getting good at this technology thing_, he thought to himself.

Within seconds, Tony landed into the helicopter, Bruce attached with bungee cords onto his back. "Romanoff, will you do the honors?" Tony gestured to the cords on his back.

Natasha expertly raised her leg and whipped it downwards so that her sharp heel cut through all the cords cleanly. Neither Bruce nor Tony's suit got a scratch.

"Good work," Tony gave her a thumbs-up. Bruce was silent, his skin abnormally pale. "So what's the game plan?"

"We're going to land in Chicago and find Loki," Steve explained. "Then, we'll capture him, get the Tesseract, and take it back to SHIELD."

"Chicago is literally one of the most populated cities in America, and they use a shit-load of energy. How do you know he's there?" Tony questioned him.

"We don't. Not exactly," Steve confessed. Natasha explained the situation to him.

"So you're just taking a stab at where he is?" Tony groaned. "Okay, Bruce, help me out here. These computers have to be good for something. Let's use what we know about the energy the Tesseract emits to narrow down our possibilities for the whereabouts of this guy."

Bruce nodded quickly, and seemed to calm down at the mention of computers. The two of them began clicking away, but Natasha began to speak.

"Guys, just a warning... I'm not sure if Loki's exactly _human_," she said unsteadily.

"What do you mean?" Steve gasped.

"When we talked, he called me a mortal. And he was doing all kinds of magic, like disappearing and reading my mind," she revealed. "He talks like he's old, like he's from another world... You guys heard him!"

Everyone was silent until Tony said, "It doesn't matter what he is. Let's just find him and kick his skinny alien ass."

* * *

It was mid-morning, and the Chicago sun had already reached its peak. It was at least ninety degrees, and Loki was unsatisfied despite Clint constantly fanning him.

"They refer to this dump as the Windy City, yet the air is hot and still," Loki complained as he, Clint, Mr. Selvig, and the young Chicagoan girl rode in her parents' Prius towards downtown. "Domestic, your shirt is far too large for you. Give it to me."

Too scared to protest, she removed her oversized t-shirt and handed it to him. It was black, which he enjoyed, and had the word "NIRVANA" across it, as well as the oddest face drawn on it.

"Why is the circle sticking out his tongue?" Loki asked. "I do not understand. His eyes are two x's. Why?"

"Um, that's- that's the symbol for the band," the girl squeaked. "They're really good, you should listen to them. You'd like 'Negative Creep'."

Loki frowned, confused, as he slid out of his heavy shirt and jacket and into the t-shirt. It was oversized on him as well. He tried to ignore this. "Much better," he said to no one in particular. As long as I have my bag, my armor will appear when I summon it..."

The girl asked if he could summon her a shirt to wear, as she was stuck in a lacy brassiere, but he ignored her. He tended to not care about Midgardians.

Finally, they reached downtown Chicago. There seemed to be people filling every square inch. Loki raised his eyebrows as he saw a gigantic silver bean people were crowded around. "Does that bean possess magical abilities? Is it an alien object? I must take it at once!" he exclaimed.

"It's just a statue. It doesn't do anything," the girl told him.

"Then why do all the mortals appear to be so interested in it? It's worse than when my fa- _Odin_ dropped Mjolnir to Midgard!"

"Because... Because it's cool. It distorts your reflection when you look up at it," the girl answered with a look of confusion on her face.

"Well, I suppose this - _Millennium Park_ - is an adequate location to begin world domination," Loki reasoned. "Selvig, domestic- remain in the vehicle. It is inconspicuous enough so that escaping, if necessary, will not be a difficult task. My archer, while I get these lowly Midgardians to kneel, retrieve the material we discussed necessary to stabilize the Tesseract before I send it to the Chitauri."

The three of them nodded, and Clint leaped out of the car's sunroof, disappearing into the crowd. Loki's watery eyes iridesced as he stroked his scepter-necklace to summon his armor and exited the Prius.

Everyone who saw heavy golden armor shimmer into solidity over the boy, who appeared to be nothing more than a skinny teenager, gasped in shock. He was suddenly wearing a helmet with large horns, gauntlets, a chest plate, and a long green cape. His scepter-necklace flickered into a sable staff with a long silver blade at the end.

"Wh-What's going on?" a beefy old man questioned Loki, ignoring his wife's pleas to stay back. "You can't just pull out a blade like that in pub-"

With one lazy twitch of his scepter, the man was blasted backwards into the Bean. A chorus of disorganized screams followed, and Loki grinned madly.

"KNEEL!" he bellowed, his voice echoing throughout the park. Anyone who tried to escape from the park was blown back by the scepter. Loki multiplied himself hundreds of times so that cackling holograms of himself surrounded the park-goers. The word "KNEEL" repeated itself thousands of times until a few of the Chicagoans were actually kneeling.

"You can't just do this!" a woman yelled. "We haven't done anything- Ah!" In a burst of electric blue, the woman's body was instantaneously incinerated.

The chaos died down as fear overtook the crowd. They all kneeled, and Loki smiled shakily, pleased with his actions. He would be a good ruler, he thought.

"Hello, mortals. Meet your new ruler!" he declared as all eyes were on him. He flew to the top of the Bean and amplified his voice. "I said... KNEEL!" he shouted one last time, frightening the stragglers into obeying him. His smile evened, shifting into a smirk, and he began to speak.

"Is this not simpler? Is this not your natural state?" he called out to the terrified civilians. "It's the unspoken truth of humanity that you crave subjugation. The bright lure of freedom diminishes your life's joy in a mad scramble for power, for identity. You were made to be ruled. In the end, you will always kneel!"

"This is America! You can't tell us what to do, or we'll whoop your ass just like we did to the British back in '76!" a young man from the crowd suddenly shouted back in protest. "Eat my red, white, and blue shit!"

Loki hissed, "You dare go against your new ruler? My people, let this incompetent mortal be an example of the consequences of treason!"

He lifted his scepter to deliver the strongest blast he could muster the energy for, but before he could reduce the obnoxious boy to smithereens, a star-spangled blur dropped down from the sky and a huge shield covered him.

"You should know better than to mess with us Americans, Loki!" Steve warned him. "The land of the free and the home of the brave!"

"If it isn't the 85-year-old teenager," Loki growled. "I have come to free these daft Midgardians from freedom! This realm shall be mine!"

"Who you callin' daft?" someone cried out.

"I don't think so. In the name of freedom!" Steve shouted, and punched Loki squarely in the chest. The god of mischief flew off of the Bean but landed on his feet, physically unharmed and laughing.

"Oh, that was unwise," Loki called up to him. He raised his scepter and blasted Steve back, but the super-soldier was able to deflect most damage away from himself and the civilians with his shield. Still, Steve fell flat on his back.

While he was still down, Loki shot a ray of electricity into him, and he screamed out as the stinging seemed to reach down to his core. Loki's cruel laugh sounded like distant vibrations in his ears, until Steve managed to throw his shield at him, knocking the god onto his arse.

The people watched for his reaction in anticipation, some shouting out "Go, America!" and "The captain's back!" One person even said, "I wish grandpa were here. He never shut up about this guy!"

Loki roared, enraged, and jabbed his scepter forward several times, each time sending a fireball into the crowd. When Steve tried to cover the Chicagoans, Loki sent a fireball at him, and his leg burnt as though he had dipped it in molten lava.

Then, Loki thrust another one towards him. He couldn't move fast enough to dodge it, and it hit him squarely in the chest. Steve was unable to move, his skin raw, burning hot, and stinging.

"Does anyone else want to fight me?" Loki thundered, trying to contain his breathlessness. A sick, nauseous feeling filled him, agitating him even more. "Good."

"Not so fast, dickweed," Tony said suddenly, descending onto the Bean.

"What kind of plant is that?" Loki wondered aloud as he joined the Iron Man on top of the Bean.

"Ugh, you're even more clueless than Capsicle," Tony complained. "Well, enough chit-chat."

He extended his arm and Loki was shot back so forcefully he couldn't hold on to his scepter. He hit a tree and collapsed onto the ground.

"Ouch," Tony winced, taking Loki's scepter and twirling it in his hands. "A god defeated by a high school junior. Not so good." Turning to the crowd, he announced, "Okay, Windy City. Show's over. Go home."

In the distance, a Prius drove away speedily. Some people ran away screaming and cheering and glad to be alive, but a few remained, pointing up to the sky in shock. A ripple had formed in the cloudless blue sky, and then it looked as though someone had sliced the heavens open with a knife. Lightning struck the city, followed by thunder so loud, the reverberations seemed to shake all of Midgard.

"Oh, no," Loki could be heard moaning. "No, for Odin's sake, no!"

Steve, who had managed to prop himself up into a sitting position, turned to Loki and laughed. "Scared of a little thunder?" he taunted him. "I knew you weren't a _god_. There's only one of those. You're nothing more than a trembling little boy!"

"You don't understand," Loki replied. He didn't sound angry or threatening any longer, only sad and scared. Steve would've felt bad for him if he didn't know better.

"What's going on?" Tony flew over to them.

"Just wait," Loki said, eyes wide, as Natasha propelled herself down from the helicopter to handcuff Loki. But before she could fully secure them, a figure flew out of the uneven cut in the sky.

"LOKI!" a loud voice cried out. In a flash of rippling red, a man landed onto the Bean. The gigantic hammer he was carrying smashed the Bean into the Pancake.

"Way to go. You destroyed a landmark!" Tony shouted at the man, who in response jumped down from the Pancake and landed next to the four of them.

"I am Thor, and I have come to collect my brother!" the man yelled. He looked a few years older than Loki, and he definitely did not look like he was related to him. Thor was unbelievably muscular, carrying Mjolnir in his hand like it was nothing, while Loki looked thin and hungry. Thor's hair was long, wavy, thick, and fair; Loki's was shorter, straight, thin, and dark.

Thor's bright blue eyes landed on the person he claimed was his younger brother. "Loki... Please," he said in a much softer tone. "We miss you."

A tear leaked from Loki's eye. "Why would you miss me?" he asked, self-abhorrence obvious in his voice.

"Couldn't have said it better myself," Tony muttered. Natasha, tending to Steve's wounds, couldn't help but roll her eyes.

Thor glared at Tony, and then noticed Loki was in handcuffs. In one swift movement of his hammer, he smashed Loki's handcuffs into oblivion, grabbed his brother, and flew away.

Tony and Steve looked at each other in shock.

"After him!" Natasha ordered, climbing into the helicopter. Tony grabbed Steve, who was holding onto his shield. "They're heading for the pier!"

* * *

THORTHORTHORTHORTHOR. I love Thor, omg. I know I said that before but it needed to be said again. I've seen the movie like twice in the past two days. Anyways, remember to review to let me know how I'm doing! Thanks for reading!


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note:** Sorry for not updating, I've been kinda busy. Thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far!

* * *

**Chapter Nine**

* * *

Meanwhile, Thor and Loki landed in a carriage on a rotating Ferris wheel. "Thor, these Midgardian children are staring," Loki complained.

"It does not matter!" Thor bellowed. He took a deep breath and continued in a much softer voice. "Please, brother, come home with me."

"I'm not your brother," Loki reminded him, refusing to meet his eyes. He knew that if he looked into those eyes he might not be able to resist. "I'm the monster that you wanted to kill the entire race of until fath- _Odin_ sent you to Midgard as punishment. You should hate me and you know it!"

"We were raised as brothers! I see you as my brother! Do you have any idea how relieved I was to see that you were alive?" Thor asked, his voice cracking.

Loki squeezed his eyes shut, as they ceaselessly swiveled upwards towards Thor's. "No one in Asgard cared. No one mourned. Lavish parties were thrown. Feasts were held. No one cared," he mumbled, repeating bits over and over again like a broken record. "I could see glimpses of Asgard from... From where I was. No one cared."

"I cared about you, Loki. I care now! Please, give up this hopeless quest. Give up the Tesseract. Come home," Thor begged, his eyes just as watery as Loki's. It pained him to see Loki this way - it hurt him in places he didn't know could hurt, reached depths he didn't know he possessed.

"I don't have either of those things. The Tesseract or a home," Loki whispered. "I'm sorry, br- _Thor_. But I spent my entire life in your shadow. I'm not going to return home just to do that for another thousand years. I finally have a chance to be powerful. Odin will see that he was wrong about me!"

Thor held his brother's shoulders. "He will see that he was wrong about you if you stop chasing this evil, poisonous dream and return to us!"

"For the last time," Loki spat, raising his voice, "I can't! Asgard is not my home! Neither is my place of birth, Jotunnheim! There is nothing for me in either of those places. Here, there is the promise of power!"

"Where is your heart? We had such good times," Thor whispered.

"_You_ had such good times," Loki corrected, a single tear sliding down his cheek. "Goodbye, _Thor Odinson_."

Before Thor could protest, he was blown into Lake Michigan by Tony. Steve jumped out of the helicopter, grabbed Loki, and climbed back in, while Natasha handcuffed him again.

"Listen, muscleman," Tony said as he struggled to pull Thor out of the cold, dirty water. "We need to take Loki back to the prison back on the SHIELD campus. You can come if you want, but no more tricks. We should be working together to fix this- situation." He tried to ignore the tears in Thor's eyes; it almost felt surreal to him, seeing someone so masculine nearly _crying_.

Thor nodded. "I only wish to protect you Midgardians," he swore. Swirling Mjolnir in a circle around his head, he flew into the helicopter before Tony even activated his jets.

"Impressive," Tony muttered to himself.

* * *

Once they were all on board, Natasha fired up the engine and headed back to the SHIELD campus.

"It'll be a few hours," she announced. "I wish we had a board game or something."

"I can get us there faster," Thor offered.

"You'd smash us into bits, Thor," Loki mumbled.

"No one asked for your opinion, reindeer boy," Tony said as he opened the food cabinet. "We seriously don't have any Oreos?"

"That was me. Sorry," Steve apologized. "They remind me of when I was a little kid."

Tony decided, for once, not to say something rude to Steve. He figured it must suck to wake up after 70 years of sleep and realize all your friends are dead, but at the same time, he wished that he could get 70 years of uninterrupted slumber.

"So where's the Tesseract?" Bruce spoke up for the first time. Loki was still staring at him, but he tried his best to ignore it.

"Loki doesn't have it," Thor answered.

"Well, we need it," Steve said. "If it gets into the wrong hands-"

"It's probably better off in someone else's hands than SHIELD's," Tony interrupted. "Trust me."

Steve looked confused, but Thor spoke before he could ask any questions.

"It's likely with any henchmen he might have," he guessed. "He'd need them to send it to whoever will be providing Loki with his army. Loki is clever. He gets others to do his bidding."

"Thank you. That's the nicest thing someone's said to me in a while," Loki said. Thor scowled.

"I'm going to take him into solitary confinement," Tony sighed. "85-year-old virgin, help me out."

_Oh, shit_, Tony chastised himself, remembering his promise to himself to be nicer to Steve. But the words of mockery just flew out of him. For a second, Tony was angry at himself, but he quickly refocused his attention to the chained-up super-villain in front of him.

Though he blushed fiercely, Steve - along with everyone else on the helicopter - ignored Tony's insult, and the two of them got up and dragged Loki into the impenetrable prison that hung threateningly over the open air. One wrong move, and the push of a button would send the inescapable cell crashing towards the ground. SHIELD had prisons like this on all of their airships.

"Can I at least have some sleeping pills? Where's my domestic when I need her?" Loki could be heard calling from the prison.

Bruce tried to tune him out, and focused on trying to track down the Tesseract with Tony. Steve was searching through the helicopter, hoping to find some sort of clue as to what Tony could have meant by saying that the Tesseract was better off away from SHIELD.

But Natasha was fighting with herself. She wanted to find out where Clint was, and she wanted to find out what Loki was up to. It was her heart versus her head, and she needed to find a way to integrate them before it was too late.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Please leave a review... Or as much as you want. Just let me know how I'm doing. Constructive criticism is more than welcome.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note:** Sorry for not updating. I'm awful with updating... Things have been kind of busy. But I'll try to update faster now. Enjoy. :)

* * *

**Chapter Ten**

* * *

"Okay, body-builder, truth or dare?" Tony asked Thor.

The five Avengers sat in a circle. None of them had been able to sleep, so they decided to get to know each other better. It was Steve's idea - to get to know his fellow Avengers better, of course. He had no idea what "Truth or Dare" was, but Tony assured him it would be fun.

Indeed, it had been fun to watch Thor pick "dare" every time it was his turn. He had done everything from causing a gigantic splash in the Mississippi River to guzzling a whole bottle of hot sauce.

"Dare!" Thor bellowed, but Natasha intervened.

"You're going to die if you do another dare. Take a break," she suggested.

"Die?" Thor laughed. "Whatever you say, Natasha Romanoff. Truth it is!"

Tony thought for a minute. "Why do you care about earth - about mortals - so much? We do nothing for your people. We're the most incapable species of them all." Everyone else nodded in agreement.

Thor might've blushed if that was possible for the god of thunder, but finally answered shakily. "My father, Odin, sent me here as punishment a while ago. It's a long story. Loki-" he stopped for a moment. "Loki should not have done what he did, but I was an arrogant fool. When I came to Midgard, I was stripped of my powers. But I met a girl named Jane Foster. She... She made me realize that Midgardians are just as important as us gods. It is a lesson Loki still must learn."

Natasha smiled, glad a god was on their side. Tony would have cracked a joke if a girl hadn't totally changed his life as well. Steve was silent, obviously thinking of someone far away. Bruce was the only one who still looked nervous and preoccupied.

"So, Steve Rogers, Captain of America," Thor's booming voice broke the silence. "Truth or dare?"

Tired and still sore from Loki's attack, Steve answered, "Truth, please."

Before Thor could speak, Natasha cut in.

"Who is she?" the Black Widow interrogated her most recent victim.

No one had to further clarify the question.

"A-A girl named Peggy," Steve said somberly after a moment of silence. "She was the strongest woman I knew. She was like- well, I know there's only one God, but she was like a goddess. We finally- We had a date planned. She made me promise to be on time... And then I fell asleep for a while."

Before Tony knew what he was doing, he had his arm wrapped around Steve. He had just sounded so _sad_. When the soldier looked up at him with a surprised look on his face, Tony shrunk back quickly.

"I'm sorry, Rogers," Natasha whispered.

He shrugged, but looked grateful. "So, Tony, truth or dare?" he asked, switching the subject.

"Truth. I don't know if I can stomach any more of that crap you guys can concoct out of our measly food rations," Tony admitted.

"Why don't you want SHIELD to get the Tesseract?" Steve asked without missing a beat.

Tony and Bruce looked at each other and frowned, like they knew a dirty secret. But before either of them could speak, there was a loud whirring noise, and the Avengers turned and looked out of the helicopter to see an even larger aircraft adjacent to them.

"I'm going to extend a bridge to connect these two carriers," Mr. Fury called through a megaphone, leaning out of the other carrier. "This has a better prison for that son of a frost giant."

As the others' faces contorted with confusion, Thor's flashed with anger and hurt.

"I will get Loki," he said hurriedly, and stormed off to the solitary confinement chamber.

* * *

"Brother, my offer still stands," Thor whispered as the prison opened with a hiss. "Let me take you back to Asgard. We will leave the mortals alone for a few years and no one will remember us." Thor couldn't believe he was willing to sacrifice the precious time he had with Jane for his troublemaker of a little brother.

"I've come too far to give up now, _Thor_," Loki said almost regretfully, though he was momentarily mollified that Thor would agree to part from Jane Foster for that long once more. "I won't go back ho- to Asgard. Imagine the _humiliation_." The last sentence had spilt out accidentally, and Loki hoped Thor would disregard it. No such luck.

"Is it really pride hinging you to this conquest doomed to fail?" Thor asked him, wrapping his brother in a hug before he knew what he was doing. "Loki, I don't care what others think, and neither should you. I just want you to come home. I love-"

"You can't," Loki shoved him away. "Take me to the other prison."

Tears stinging both their eyes, Thor held up Mjolnir, preparing to fly them to the other aircraft. But there was one last thing he needed to say.

"There was a time I was not worthy, Loki. Things can change," he said quietly before spinning Mjolnir over his head and propelling them into the sky. They were the last to land in the Helicarrier.

"I almost thought you'd... Never mind," Ms. Hill said awkwardly.

"I would never do anything to put the Midgardians in harm's way," Thor swore.

"Funny, last time you were here," Mr. Coulson remembered, "an alien that breathed fire blew up New-"

"Do not speak of such events now," Thor requested, looking with mournful eyes at Loki. "Take my brother to his cell, please. Oh, and if it's alright, can I have some - what are they called - Pop Tarts?"

Loki rolled his eyes and Tony snickered. "He ate our whole supply on the helicopter," Tony informed the teachers.

"I shall bring you some, brother. The strawberry flavor made me think I had died and gone to Valhalla!" Thor exclaimed.

Loki sighed as Mr. Fury, Ms. Hill, and Mr. Coulson took him down the corridor and led him to his prison cell.

* * *

There was that look again. Bruce couldn't ignore it. It made him so _angry_...

He and Tony were working on locating the Tesseract in one of the labs when the guards walked Loki past them to take him into the prison cell. Loki's trademark smirk, multiplied tenfold for Bruce's confusion and torment, was absolutely torturing him.

"Why?" Bruce found himself hissing to no one in particular.

"What's wrong, big guy?" Tony asked, looking up from his computer screen.

"Nothing," he muttered, returning to his calculations. But before he could even focus again, Natasha and Steve ran into the room.

"You are _not_ going to believe this. Stark, Banner, get over here," Natasha said excitedly. Steve was just shaking his head.

Tony and Bruce ran with them back to the center of the Helicarrier, wondering what could be going on. When they saw, their jaws dropped. James, Pepper, Jane, and Darcy stood in front of them, armed with various weapons.

James had a machine gun slung across his chest, Pepper was holding a bigger version laser gun she had used to free Tony and Steve from Loki's trap, Jane's pockets were stuffed with odd-looking trinkets Tony thought might be miniature bombs, and Darcy had a Taser.

"What are you doing here?" Tony asked, shocked, as he embraced Pepper. "Go home! It's too dangerous! I can't- You can't-"

"I've held my own before," Pepper said firmly. "I needed to do something. Oh, and I brought you cookies. Your favorite." She pulled out a warm Tupperware container of gingersnap cookies, but he didn't have much of an appetite.

Pepper couldn't get hurt. She just couldn't.

"Look, I don't see what the big deal is," Pepper said, trying to warm Tony up to the idea of _normal_ teenagers helping out the mighty Avengers. "James just asked me-"

"So James is behind this?" Tony snarled accusingly. "James, man, how could you?"

James stood adamant. "I'm sick of us average people not getting to do anything. Just because we don't have super-suits or crazy powers or spy training doesn't mean we can't help fight," he replied.

Jane, Darcy, and Pepper nodded.

"He has a point," Bruce confessed. "Powers don't necessarily mean efficient and reliable fighting skills."

But before anyone could say anything else, Thor returned from his visit to Loki's cell, where he had brought his brother Pop Tarts.

"Loki _loved_ them," Thor said triumphantly. "He tried to hide it, but..."

When Thor looked up and saw Jane, his voice trailed off, and he dropped Mjolnir, leaving a dent in the Helicarrier's floor.

"Jane! You should not have come," he said fearfully. "Dangers await us!"

"Nice to see you too, Thor," Jane responded tenderly.

In the blink of an eye, he wrapped her in a right hug and kissed her with the fervency of a thousand bolts of lightning. How she'd missed the slant of his burning lips against hers, the way they seemed to fit together perfectly yet knock her senses out of her at the same time. Butterflies fluttered- no, thunder clapped in her stomach as his tongue slipped into her mouth and he cradled her head in his hands.

Every second they couldn't be together was made up in that kiss.

The moment couldn't be savored for long, though, because a long, flaming arrow flew into the Helicarrier and missed Natasha by a centimeter. As soon as the arrow touched the ground, it exploded.

* * *

**Review, review, review, please! Am I keeping them in character (or at least, an imaginable teenage version of them)? Constructive criticism is welcome and appreciated, along with general feedback. Thanks for reading. C:**


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note:** So, the story's going to start straying more and more from the plot of the Avengers film after this chapter. Let me know what you think! Also, any tips on how to improve writing action scenes would be appreciated.

* * *

**Chapter Eleven**

* * *

Thrown back by the explosion, Natasha found herself up in the rafters of the Helicarrier. Looking out the window, she saw the fleeting silhouette of Clint Barton. She realized now what she had to do.

She ran towards Loki's prison cell, her heart racing.

Thor had thrown himself protectively over Jane, and Tony had done the same for Pepper.

"We must go!" Thor shouted over the blaring alarms. "More are attacking!"

He was right. Jets containing possessed teachers were heading towards the Helicarrier. James prepared to fight, but Darcy was pointing at something else. Bruce was on the ground trembling. Even scarier, his brown eyes were melding into a radioactive green.

"Bruce, calm down. It'll all be okay. Loki's still in his prison. It'll all be fine," Darcy was telling him in a sing-song voice, but it didn't seem to be doing much. He had been holding in his anger for so long...

Bruce Banner was losing control. He wasn't sure how much longer he could contain the other guy.

Tony grabbed Pepper's hand and ran with her to suit up, shooting one last look at Darcy that warned, "Get away while you still can."

Thor flew out to the top of the Helicarrier to fight off Loki's men, and Jane and James were firing away. Bombs were thrown, gunshots were fired, and all hell had broken loose.

* * *

"I've been expecting you," Loki said coolly. As soon as Natasha had come within a few meters of him, he had spun around swiftly, hands tented. The two of them were alone, all the teachers having gone to fight off Loki's men. The perfect distraction.

Natasha lowered her head shamefully as she pressed her hands to the glass tank. "I...I need your help," she whispered. "I'll do anything."

Loki's mirthless laugh echoed throughout the prison. "It's about the archer, isn't it? Did you like how he only just missed you with his arrow? Next time, he won't be so kind," he said menacingly.

"What do you plan to do with him?" she asked, an edge in her voice. "You can't-"

"Why do you care? He's gone. His mind is under _my_ control. I specifically instructed him to kill you," Loki hissed. "Move on, Romanoff."

"No! You can't!" she begged.

Loki shook his head. "Love is a-"

"I'm not in _love_. Love is for the weak and foolish," Natasha interrupted him. This got Loki's attention. He looked up, a glimmer she couldn't quite place in his eyes. "I owe him a debt."

"Oh, how I love a good story. Do tell," Loki said as he lifted his head up attentively.

"When I first made a blip on SHIELD's radar, it was in a bad way. I made some mistakes," she said hesitatingly. "I had a very specific skill-set, and I was working for the wrong people. I didn't know better. I was a little kid from Russia."

"You still are a little kid from Russia, and that's all you'll ever be," Loki said. "A curvaceous figure and a pretty face, but red through and through, and you'll never-"

"You think I'm pretty?" Natasha gasped, raising an eyebrow.

"Just get on with your story," Loki snarled.

She consented without another word. "SHIELD sent Barton to get rid of me. They had assassins from a young age, too. Instead... He saved me, in every way. He chose not to kill me and convinced me to attend SHIELD Prep. Now it's my turn to save him. Just what exactly are you planning to do with him?"

Loki laughed so hard, he held his stomach. Natasha had a feeling it wasn't exactly genuine.

"You may be on the side of the angels, but don't think for a second that you are one of them! You are a devil in disguise, and so are all of your friends. You, like them, only care about yourself and your own silly hopes," Loki said, his voice full of contempt. "The little archer boy will not make it out of this alive, and neither will you. Just before I blast his sorry body into a thousand pieces, I'll command him to kill you- slowly, _intimately_, and in every way he knows you fear! That is my plan, and a pathetic, impure harlot like you will not convince me otherwise! Now, be gone!"

He slammed his fist against the glass separating Natasha from him, and she jumped back. His voice had grown louder with each word, until his words seemed to cause the entire Helicarrier to quake.

Tears filled Natasha's eyes. "You-You're a monster," she said shakily.

Loki chuckled derisively once more. "Oh, no," he smiled. "You brought the monster."

Natasha looked up, and the tears in her eyes were gone instantly. "So, that's what you're going to do. Release the Hulk. You're clever, _Laufeyson_. But not as clever as me. As _us_, the earth's angels," she grinned. She switched on her headset and urgently informed her teachers, "Loki means to release the Hulk. Get Bruce, and get him quick!"

She began to walk away, but a sudden roar tore through the Helicarrier.

"Too late," Loki sneered.

* * *

"Darcy, get back!" Jane yelled to her friend. "We need to get away!"

Bruce was transforming, and Darcy was _still_ trying to talk him down. Jane, James, Mr. Fury, and Mr. Coulson were firing away at the possessed teachers. Ms. Hill was trying to control the Helicarrier, but some of the engines had been busted up by Loki's men, and the airship was quickly falling out of the sky.

Tony flew in, having stashed Pepper where he hoped not many possessed teachers would attack. He couldn't risk her getting hurt. "Capsicle, come help me fix the engines," he called down to Steve, who was grabbing Darcy and handing her to Thor. Thor flew her and Jane to safety, and started to lure the Hulk - now fully transformed and crazed with pure, lethal rage - down into the belly of the Helicarrier.

"We need to protect our friends! They're barely holding Loki's men off," Steve protested as he flung his shield at a few of the possessed. It hurt to kill his teachers, but orders were orders. "It's what Mr. Fury instructed us to do. We need to follow commands."

"Do you ever think for yourself?" Tony spat. "Or are you just a dumbass on steroids?"

Steve was seriously offended by his words, and wondered for a second if Tony was right, if he saw the truth. But he tossed the thought from his mind quickly. "Yeah, well, you're a selfish bastard, and you're nothing without your suit," Steve shot back, trying to cover the pain Tony's words had inflicted upon him.

Tony's tan skin deepened to a brick red. "Uh, no. I'm a genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist," he corrected the super-soldier. "Besides, do you even know what SHIELD is planning to do with the Tesseract once they get it?"

Steve realized Tony had a point. "I've been asking! Tell me!" he demanded.

"They want to make nuclear weapons to use against aliens," Tony elucidated. "I don't know about you, but I have a feeling nuclear weapons create a lot more trouble than they're worth. Not to mention what'll happen if they get put in the wrong hands."

Steve realized he _had_ been one of SHIELD's mindless puppets. Nuclear weapons were not a cause he wanted to fight for. "Let's go fix the engines," he said grimly. Explosions all around them, the two teenagers made their way to the edge of the Helicarrier.

* * *

Natasha searched for Clint. She had a close call with the Hulk, but Thor - with the help of Mjolnir - had saved her from certain death. Now she was alone, looking for the boy she loved. She had a feeling she could restore his mind, but she needed to locate him first... Without getting killed.

_Where would the Hawk go if he was ordered to assassinate someone? _she asked herself.

The answer was painfully obvious.

Natasha looked up into the rafters of the Helicarrier, and an arrow zoomed towards her. She rolled out of the way, and saw the circus boy pull another arrow out of his quiver.

"Come down and fight me like a man!" she screamed.

He jumped down, his blue eyes rabid, and loaded a harpoon gun. But before he could fire, she delivered a well-placed, full-power kick to his head. He fell backwards, and she grabbed his harpoon gun from him, hitting him several times with it. He clawed at her legs, but she wriggled out of his weakened grasp and slammed her head against his as he tried to sit up.

The battered and bruised archer collapsed. His eyes fluttered shut, and when he opened them again, she almost cried with relief to see that they were a soft, clear brown.

"Clint?" she whispered hopefully.

"Natasha? Where am I?" he groaned. "My head... I think it's bleeding. Does it have any marks on it?"

"Um, a little one, but it's nothing bad," she lied. "Let's get you to a bed. You need to rest." She picked him up and carried him in her arms to the recovery rooms.

"Loki!" Clint yelled suddenly between his groans of pain. "Where is he? What did he do?"

"I have a _lot_ to explain to you. Be patient," Natasha sighed. She was too relieved to think about Loki right now. She was so preoccupied with Clint, she didn't see the god of mischief walk past them, scepter in hand.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Remember to review. :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note: **Sorry for taking so long to update! This chapter is extra-long as a reward. :P

* * *

**Chapter Twelve**

* * *

Thor had shooed the Hulk away, but the problem was, he didn't exactly know where to. He was too busy fighting off the most recent wave of Loki's men and checking in on Jane. She was tending to the wounded teachers with Pepper. Thor admired her bravery; it renewed his will to help the Midgardians, even if it meant his brother would be punished.

Of course, he didn't want that to happen to Loki. It saddened him that his brother had lost his path. "Loki, I wish I could help you," Thor said to himself.

"You shouldn't," a voice behind him said. Thor turned around to see none other than Loki standing there.

"Brother?" Thor asked, stunned.

"I'm not your brother!" he insisted, his face contorted with anger and pain.

"How did you escape?" Thor inquired.

"The Hulk smashed my prison to bits," Loki answered. "But that's no matter. I'm taking my plans- elsewhere."

"Away from Midgard?" Thor said hopefully.

"Ha. No. I'm sorry," Loki apologized, almost sounding genuine. "Revenge makes for the sweetest conquest… Oh, but I've almost given away too much. Goodbye, brother- _Thor_." He jumped out of the Helicarrier's open window and disappeared in a burst of blue light.

"Loki!" Thor shouted, but it was too late. More enemy airplanes locked onto the Helicarrier. Mr. Coulson ran to Thor and looked out of the open window.

"Did he get away?" Mr. Coulson asked, the dread in his voice suggesting he already knew the answer.

"It doesn't matter," Thor shook his head, blinking back tears. "I know where my brother is going."

"Where?" Mr. Coulson looked confused.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Thor said grimly.

"Try me," Mr. Coulson replied. "I've seen a lot of things I used to think weren't real. All these heroes. I used to think there was no good in the world, but the Avengers-"

But Mr. Coulson couldn't finish. With a great, animalistic bellow, the Hulk trampled and kicked him from behind, sending his twisted body flying out of the window and crashing towards earth. All that was left of him was a bloodstain, like the guts of a crushed bug.

"NO!" Thor cried, hammering Mjolnir into the Hulk. "Son of Coul!"

The Hulk leaped onto the remaining enemy jets, crushing them into cubes, before jumping onto the top of the Helicarrier and drumming his gigantic fists onto his chest. All of Loki's men were dead.

Thor watched the mangled body of Mr. Coulson descend onto the earth. "Father, please help him," he prayed. "Do something!"

Right then, the body transformed into a ray of golden light, and shot up into the sky.

A bright star formed over the Helicarrier.

* * *

They gathered solemnly in the center of the airship.

"I can't believe Mr. Coulson's gone," Pepper said despondently. "My mom's going to be so upset." Even Jane looked sad. Thor made a mental note to tell her about his star later; he had a feeling she would be the only one to believe him.

"We were able to repair the engines," Tony said as he stroked Pepper's trembling hand with his thumb. "Steve learned a little bit about electricity, too, so that's a plus."

Steve smiled at his friend. Their argument seemed so petty now that they had faced such a loss. Lives were truly in the balance, and everyone realized they had to work together to end the unnecessary violence terrorizing them.

"I learned a little bit about what SHIELD wants to do with the Tesseract, as well," Steve remembered, glaring at Mr. Fury. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Mr. Fury and Ms. Hill shifted uncomfortably. "Look, I'm in a tight posit-" he tried to explain, but Steve stopped him.

"No, _we're_ in a tight position," he gestured to the five other Avengers. Bruce looked completely drained - almost dead - ignoring Darcy's attempts to lighten his mood. Thor held onto Jane's hand, mourning his brother's decision. Tony wiped tears out of Pepper's eyes. Natasha was murmuring to Clint words of reassurance that none of this was his fault, but he looked guilty, almost as guilty as Bruce felt. "We agreed to save the world, but how can we do that when you're planning on building self-destructive weapons with the object you're ordering us to retrieve? I'm a soldier, sir. I'm conditioned to follow commands. But I'm also sworn to protect the people. I'm not going to put lives at risk by enabling the construction of a nuclear weapon. So, if that's what the Avengers Initiative is all about, then you can count me out."

Five others nodded in unison.

"The last thing I wanted was to have the fate of the earth rest in the hands of six teenagers," Mr. Fury said after a long pause. "But I have no choice. We need each and every one of you. So, I guess I have no choice. Mr. Coul- Ms. Hill and I will inform the superiors. We'll try our best to convince them. Is that good enough?"

"For now," Steve agreed. "If that's okay with my teammates."

They all nodded once more, except for Bruce, who was back in a world of his own.

"Well, get some rest and formulate a plan. We need to find Loki," Mr. Fury said, and the teachers walked out, leaving the teenagers alone to think.

* * *

"I know where he's going," Thor admitted once the teachers were gone. Everyone looked at him in shock.

"Why didn't you tell us that before, when the teachers were here?" James asked. "Look, I get that you want to save your bro-"

"You do not get it, James Rhodes," Thor said sorrowfully. "Loki has lost his sanity."

"Well, no shit," Tony blurted out. He almost apologized when he saw the look in Thor's eyes. "Listen, Point Break, help us understand what's going on. Even your girlfriend looks confused."

Thor took one look at Jane and began to speak, his voice solemn. "Where I come from, Asgard, my father Odin is king. He told Loki and I at a young age that we were both born to be kings. He warned us about the Jotunn, or frost giants, whom all of Asgard consider a monstrosity. As we grew up, Odin... Odin made it obvious that Loki would not be the heir to throne. He chose me over Loki, which made him bitter. My little brother set a chain of events in motion that led him to the revelation that he wasn't my little brother after all. He was a frost giant, the monsters parents tell their children about at night, stolen by Odin to someday bring peace to the two realms. But those plans were no longer an option, as I had violated a treaty between Asgard and Jotunnheim." Thor looked ashamed. "Loki went mad, attempting to trap me in Midgard forever so he could rule Asgard. I forgave him for that, as it led me to Jane. But he tried to destroy all of Jotunnheim in order to prove himself worthy to be Odin's son- my father had once defeated the Jotunn in a battle to save Midgard. I stopped him, but we were hanging off of a bridge, the Bifrost... Loki let go and plummeted to what we believed to be his death. But he ended up on Midgard instead."

"Loki tried to kill himself?" Bruce asked hoarsely.

"Yes. But he failed," Thor said, sounding thankful.

"That makes two of us," Bruce revealed.

The room grew silent.

"So where do you think Loki's going?" Tony broke the silence for Bruce's sake. Thor paused.

"You need to tell us. If you help us, we can find a way to settle this with as little violence as possible. Maybe we can save Loki," Steve bargained.

"I don't think so," Clint and Natasha said simultaneously.

"Please. We need to know," Jane said, running her fingers through Thor's hair.

He groaned. He could not fail Jane. "Loki is going to Greece."

"How could you possibly know that?" Pepper asked skeptically.

"Before Loki escaped, he came to me. He mentioned starting his quest for world domination elsewhere, and something along the lines of revenge making the sweetest conquest. He then said that he had nearly revealed too much... I am confident he is headed to Mount Olympus," Thor explained.

"Why would Mount Olympus be a place he would seek revenge at?" Jane questioned. "Don't tell me-"

"When we were children, a long time ago... A _long_ time ago-"

"You told me you were eighteen when we met!" Jane cried.

"Gods age differently than mortals, my love. I am eighteen physically and emotionally, but in mortal years, I am a few thousand years old," Thor shrugged. "When I was a child," he continued, not noticing her astonished expression, "Loki and I had a meeting with Zeus of Mount Olympus. I wanted to see the other thunderer."

Everyone's jaw dropped in unison. "Oh, you have _got_ to be kidding me," Tony almost laughed. Steve shook his head with disbelief.

Thor looked confused. "Did you not consider that if the Norse gods were real, the Greek gods would be, as well? We had come in contact during a Midgardian war, and Odin set up a meeting. There is no need to travel to another realm to visit the Greeks; Olympus is in Midgard, hidden in the clouds by the gods when they do not wish to be seen. Once we were there, Zeus offered to fight Loki and I, and... He bested us. Loki has always wanted revenge for that. He hardly goes a decade without mentioning it. I am certain he has gone there to restart his conquest of the world, at the beginning of civilization itself. I am also certain he has gone mad if he thinks for a second he stands a chance against all of us and the gods of Olympus...But he does have an army I know not of," Thor finished.

"Wow," Jane croaked. "Wow. There is _so much_ astrological research has missed."

Thor kissed her hungrily. "I have missed you."

"Well, looks like we're going to Greece," Tony interrupted them. "At least I'll get to work on my tan."

"I've always wanted to go there," Pepper added wistfully.

"Maybe we can tour some of the islands when we're done with this Avengers business. They say Greece is pretty romantic," Tony said suggestively.

Clint looked at Natasha hopefully. She slapped him gently, shaking her head.

* * *

"Bruce, it wasn't your fault," Darcy repeated. She was like a broken record. The fifteen-year-old girl would _not_ give up until Bruce stopped torturing himself for Mr. Coulson's tragic demise.

The two of them were alone in Bruce's new room, a windowless metal chamber. Darcy, Jane, Natasha, and Pepper shared a room across the hall, and Clint, James, Steve, Thor, and Tony shared one upstairs. It was Bruce who was isolated for the night, while they travelled to Greece.

Bruce remained motionless and expressionless, his dirty skin pale and bloodied. He wanted to kill himself now more than ever. He had lost control and killed a good man, an innocent man. Who was next, Loki or one of the Avengers?

_Loki_. Bruce had never hated anyone more. Loki had played him perfectly, and even thinking about that smirk made him furious.

"BRUCE!" Darcy screamed.

His eyes shot open, and he completely forgot about Loki's obnoxious grin when he saw her soft smile. She patted his head.

"Good boy," she said in that dreamy voice of hers, the scent of strawberries and candy filling his nostrils.

"Why don't you go to bed? It's going to be a long day tomorrow," he reminded her. _Why is she even trying with me? I'm a hopeless case_, he thought to himself. _I'm a monster._

"You're not a monster. I just wanted to let you know," she said as though she could read his mind. "You can't blame yourself for Mr. Coulson's death. You didn't know what you were doing. If it makes you feel any better, he became a star."

Bruce furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "What?"

"Thor saw Mr. Coulson fall off the Helicarrier. He prayed to his daddy to save him, so he turned him into a star," Darcy told him happily. "Wanna go see it?"

Bruce was skeptical, but if he had learned anything from SHIELD, it was that impossible things happened all the time. "Sure. Let me... Let me get dressed," he said, realizing all his clothes had been torn off from his transformation. He would have blushed, but Darcy was acting so normal, nothing felt weird.

After he washed up and got dressed, he and Darcy walked up to the top floor of the Helicarrier, where the giant, clear roof that seemed to stretch on forever enabled them to clearly see the night sky that actually _did_ stretch on forever. They sat down on a scarlet blanket Darcy admitted was actually Thor's cape - "I just snuck into the boys' room and took it. They didn't even notice!" - and she pointed up to the brightest star in the night sky. "Jane just _had_ to map it," Darcy said. "I would've, too, if I knew how. Look at it. It's so... Shiny!"

Bruce had to admit it was amazing. And, whether it was Mr. Coulson or not, it made him feel better. "It's brilliant," he said. "Thanks for this... Hey, I thought you studied science. Shouldn't you know how to map stars?"

"I study _political_ science," she giggled as she opened up a picnic basket of food she had baked with Jane and Pepper. The contents of the straw basket included pastel-colored cookies shaped like butterflies and hearts, sliced bread coated with rainbow sprinkles, and a large thermos. "Want a sugar cookie? Oh, this is called fairy bread. And this chamomile tea is still hot. Wow, Pepper buys really good thermoses!" Darcy noted.

"It says 'Stark Industries' on it," Bruce observed. "That's probably why it works so well."

"Here, have some," Darcy offered after she had taken a sip. "It always makes me sleepy. It's really calming."

He swigged the entire thermos in a couple gulps as soon as she said the word "calming". Then, he looked up at her curiously. "Why do you care?"

"Care about what?" she asked innocently.

"Me," he said. "No one cares about me... Just the other guy."

"That's not true. Everyone here cares about Bruce Banner," Darcy said quietly.

But Bruce had met too many people to prove her wrong. He was unsafe, unpredictable, and definitely unlovable. He was convinced of that.

"I should've known better," he said, standing up. "What's your aim?"

Darcy's eyes went even wider, if that were possible. "I just wanted to help..."

"No one just wants to help!" Bruce yelled. He knew he was being a complete asshole, but he couldn't stop himself. "Were there drugs in the tea? Huh? Just tell me!"

"Who do you think I am?" she cried.

"How should I know? I don't even know who I am!" he growled. She backed away quickly, and disappeared down the spiral staircase.

As soon as she had left, he realized he had crushed the thermos. His hand was tinted green, but he squeezed his eyes shut and thought of the sparkling star in the sky, and how Darcy's eyes sparkled just as much, and he slowly faded back to normal. He had no idea what had gotten into him.

"Goddamnit, Banner, why do you screw everything up?" he chided himself as he picked up the remnants of their picnic. He half-considered going after her and apologizing, but he figured he'd probably just scare her again.

Bruce returned to his chamber with the realization that he knew what he was missing, but he was too afraid of himself to make things right. That thought left him feeling more alone than ever.

* * *

**So what do you think? Is everyone in character (at least, in a teenage version of their character)? Reviews are appreciated! Constructive criticism is always welcome. :)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Note:** So, I really started changing things here. Let me know if you like it or not!

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen**

* * *

Tony let out a groan the moment the Helicarrier flew within view of Mount Olympus, and Thor punched a dent into the metal wall. Loki's attack had already started; the cloudy sky was torn open, thunder shaking the snowcapped mountains and the earth below. There was fire, and chaos, and screaming, and everything else Loki seemed to love so much. Including robot aliens.

They were different sizes and shapes, but were all undoubtedly huge, ugly, and dangerous. Death followed them wherever they went, and their thick, dark skin looked frightfully impenetrable. The Chitauri were only doing their job - in exchange for the Tesseract, of course.

"Loki's army," Steve whispered in awe. "What _are_ they?"

"We don't need to know. We just need to kill them," James reminded him, loading a mini rocket-launcher and zipping up the grenade-filled pockets of his camouflage clothing.

"There's so many! They keep pouring out of the sky- out of Olympus," Jane said, pointing upwards.

"But look down, Jane. There's so many people, and they look so scared. What's going to happen to them?" Darcy worried, wringing her jewelry-laden hands. Her nail polish was more chipped than ever.

Bruce looked up at her, a thousand apologies in his tired eyes. Their brown eyes met for a nanosecond before she looked back down to the civilians.

"Take your pick of weapons and help them get to safety," Steve suggested, opening up the weapons supply closet. She excitedly hugged him and began searching through the various guns, knives, bombs, bows, and arrows. Bruce couldn't help but wish he had been the one she had hugged. He pictured her soft, floral cardigan pressed against him, but removed the envious, torturous thought from his head as abruptly as it had come. He had ruined his chances with his stupid _temper_. He could never live a normal life and do normal, stupid teenage things like crush on girls.

"Jane, stay, please," Thor pleaded, but he already knew he stood no chance.

"No way," Jane refused. "I'm gonna fight, for Midgard!" She joined Darcy in searching for the perfect weapon, dressing herself in bulletproof clothing, and Thor almost smiled at her courage. But he was too upset, not only that she would be in danger, but that Loki would be, as well. The fear that either of them could get killed spread a certain coldness through his heart as if it had been touched by a Jotunn, and the relentless frostbite was paralyzing him.

"Well, let's do this," Tony said once they had all prepared. Pepper agreed to go with Darcy to help the people down in the city get away, so Mr. Fury had given them the most thorough first-aid kit in existence and the keys to his fastest getaway car. Tony pressed an urgent kiss to her lips, as if to say, "Come back safe." The way she pulled him closer to her sent the response, "Only if you do."

Thor took a deep breath and shut his eyes. "I know this is going to be hard for you," Jane said softly, her breath warm and soothing against his neck, "but once it's over, everything will fall back into place. It'll be good, you'll see. I promise."

"You waited for me for a long time, Jane. You were loyal, and strong. I trust every word you say," Thor said. He lifted up her hand and kissed it. "Fight well, but do not die a warrior's death. Return to me safely, or I- I don't know what I will do."

"Ready, guys?" Steve opened the Helicarrier. Eruptions could already be heard in the distance.

Mr. Fury and Ms. Hill watched gravely as the teenagers nodded. They knew no teenagers should have to have this sort of pressure on them - the literal weight of the world rested on their shoulders.

The Avengers - and company - ran into the war zone.

* * *

"How exactly do we get up to Mount Olympus?" Steve asked Thor, the notion of gods and goddesses still unbelievable to him.

"We fly up," Thor answered, watching James, Jane, Pepper, and Darcy shoot Chitauri and direct people away from the area. They were down at the foot of the mountain; not many Chitauri had reached there yet, but so many fell from the sky, Thor guessed it couldn't be long before they were overwhelmed. They needed to hurry.

Thor grabbed Clint and Natasha, swung Mjolnir over his head, and propelled the three of them into the widening gash in the sky. Tony grabbed Steve and Bruce and powered up the jets built into his suit. He wished he could stay and help Pepper. The Chitauri were relentless, and he knew they needed all the help they could get.

The air grew almost unbearably cold on their way up, but as soon as they entered the blindingly white gap - just barely dodging a lightning bolt - it warmed up considerably. It was comfortably brisk and cool, but none of them were paying attention to the weather at this point. They were soaking in Olympus.

The home of the gods was _massive_. The marble floor looked as though it went on forever in all directions. Twelve giant thrones - varying from a throne of coral and seaweed to a steampunk-looking throne of gears and levers - were erected in front of them, each several meters apart. Statues of the various deities - some looking stereotypically ancient Greek, some looking modern, and some unconventional and Pablo Picasso-esque - decorated the spaces between the thrones. There was no ceiling to the atrium; clouds covered them. Everything seemed to radiate a bright whiteness. And chaos was everywhere.

The Chitauri were pouring in from _somewhere_, and as soon as they were killed, more appeared. The scaly beasts flew towards the Avengers from the second they flew in. Thor dropped Clint and Natasha and Tony placed Steve gently on the floor, still hovering above the ground, as if he were afraid his friend would fall right through the white tiles. Steve looked just as anxious, but the ground was somehow solid. Thor flung Mjolnir at a snakelike Chitauri, and it burst into chunks, one piece hitting a hefty teenage boy with a thick mess of jet-black hair in the head.

"Hey, watch it!" he said, turning around. His eyes were stormy and constantly changing between shades of blue, green, and grey, and he was incredibly muscular. "Oh, Thor. Nice to see you again," he greeted the other god of thunder as he waved his left hand to electrocute another one of the Chitauri. As he did so, his eyes flashed bright yellow.

"Zeus," Thor nodded curtly as Mjolnir returned to him, having clobbered at least a dozen monsters on its way.

"Zeus?" Clint asked in shock, staring at the god's tattered blue jeans and grey muscle tee. "Aren't you supposed to be... In a toga or something?"

Zeus's laugh was so loud, it threw back a small Chitauri. "I know _Thor_ and the other Norse gods haven't advanced, but us Greeks stay on earth - or as they would call it, Midgard. So we move forward with the people, instead of being shut off in some other distant, isolated realm. Thank gods the mortals invented divorce, so I could finally get rid of _her_," Zeus said with a sigh of relief, gesturing towards an angry-looking girl with pointy features and pure gold eyes.

"How _dare_ you invade my kingdom!" she screeched, incinerating the Chitauri into golden ashes with one snap of her fingers. "Zeus, this is all your fault!"

"Oh, Hera," Zeus shook his head. "It's been four-hundred years and she's _still_ bitter about the break-up."

"Zeus, shut up and get fighting," a boy with tan skin even Tony was jealous of, sun-streaked blonde hair, and sea-green eyes demanded. He was shirtless - showing off his chiseled figure - and wore algae-covered swim trunks. He held a two-meter-long trident and was busy stabbing a large serpent.

All of the Avengers except Thor were staring up at the gods incredulously. The Norse god of thunder, having seen all of the Greek gods before, was off fighting with a goddess who was using vines and tree trunks to strangle the Chitauri,. Finally, Natasha came to her senses.

"We need to kill Loki's army! Get moving," she ordered, kicking one squarely in the face as it zoomed towards Clint and running off to fight more. Clint loaded up his bow and followed her.

"On it," Tony replied, flying off to battle the largest monster he could see - it spanned at least fifteen meters. He was joined by a deformed boy with a remote control. When the teenage god pressed a certain button, bombs detonated with an Olympic force even Stark Industries couldn't reach.

"Hey, Quasimodo," Tony called to him. "Watch out!"

Hephaestus turned around to see the gigantic Chitauri monster headed straight towards him. Tony raised his hand, and a fireball shot out - _Kudos to Loki for the idea_, he thought - and hit the beast right in the eye, its skin seared into raw, pink meat. As it roared in pain, a crazy idea came to Tony.

"JARVIS, prepare the bombs," he instructed.

"Which ones, sir?" JARVIS inquired.

"All of them. I'm about to get biblical," Tony said, soaring swiftly into the creature's open mouth.

Its knife-like teeth barely missed him, but he made it in safely enough. He could hear it scream as he tore through its fleshy, dark insides and released bomb after bomb. He sighed with relief when he made it out and the creature collapsed in defeat. He didn't have a lot of time to revel in his victory and recharge his suit, though - twenty other beasts, identical to the one he had just killed, were making their way towards him.

"Thanks for that. Need a hand?" the god asked, reappearing at Tony's side. "I'm Hephaestus. Pardon the face. Anyway, um, I've heard all about you. Can I just say that I am a _huge_ fan of Stark Industries?"

* * *

**Reviews are love!**


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